Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, thank the Minister for her presentation. My colleagues have raised some of the issues I wished to raise so I will not dwell on them at length. Prior to the economic crash there was much concentration on the employment of people with disability. My recent checks on this area show that the public service is still at its target.

Given that the target was set approximately 15 years ago, has consideration been given to increasing it for the public service? There was a strong media campaign and a discussion within the body politic regarding private and non-State companies employing people with disabilities. We were all very interested in the area of employment and disability until the crash when the entire employment situation changed. Now that, according to yesterday's figures, we are moving back towards 2008 levels, let us engage again with the employment of people with disabilities. I have spoken to individuals who have taken on those with disabilities I have never heard any of them say that the disability interfered with a particular person's performance. In fact, the opposite was the case. The employers with whom I spoke found that people with disabilities were extremely conscientious workers and contributed greatly to the business. There is an opportunity to promote that area and to look at the public service in the context of employing such people.

Previous speakers referred to disability. I raise the matter of acquired disability, which we appear not to include in our discussions. There is a big change in a family when one of its members suffers a stroke, for example. Sometimes stroke is not seen as being on the disability spectrum but, of course, it is on that spectrum. Concerns arise in respect of the adaptation of houses, change in lifestyle and so on. If one has a medical card, one will be eligible for certain services. There is a whole range of issues we do not include when discussing disability. We see something as a disability but we do not include those with such a disability in the overall discussion relating to disability services.

Aging can also give rise to disability. The issue with which we, as public representatives, are all confronted is that of grants for the adaptation of houses by means of the installation of shower facilities, handrails, lifts and so on. Sometimes there is an immediacy about these things because people may become disabled. at a certain age. We all know of families who try to bath an elderly person and who may have to wait six or 12 months to convert to a shower.