John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to make a general comment and pick up on a particular paragraph in the presentation given by Ms Carr because it cuts to the chase and to why we are here. Ms Carr said that disability is not a health issue or an education issue or an employment issue but an equality issue. She said Government has taken a whole-of-government approach to disability for a number of years.

At our two previous sessions, the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, indicated that the current activation measures are not impacting on the employment rates of people with disabilities in post-recession Ireland. That view is echoed by numerous other organisations that deal specifically with people with disabilities. There are serious question marks over how successfully the measures are impacting on the ground.

To home in on one area, much has been said about the comprehensive employment strategy which has been in place for two years. The strategy has not had any impact on the employment levels of people with disabilities. That view is borne out by statistics that are available for everybody to see and have been referred to in a couple of presentations. It has also been echoed by the DFI and other organisations. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has responsibility for 33 actions in the comprehensive employment strategy, most of which were to be delivered in 2016. How many of those specific actions have been implemented? I can state categorically that few of them have been implemented, even though the target date for implementation was 2016. Will Ms Ryan indicate how many of the 33 actions in the strategy have been implemented by the Department?