Dr. Rosalyn Tamming:

I will start and my colleagues might come in. We advise that looking at the actual employment rate, namely 36% in Ireland at the moment, for people with disabilities, versus 72% roughly for the rest of the population, is not all that helpful when employment rates can fluctuate based on how the economy is doing. Sometimes looking at the disability employment gap, the difference between those rates, is more useful. On that metric we are actually at the bottom of the table throughout Europe with 41.3% compared with an EU average of 23.1%. Some people argue that Irish people are less inclined to say they have a disability than people in other countries. I do not think that is an explanation. There are some schemes that do not take place in Ireland, for example, vocational rehabilitation. It may be difficult for a person who acquires a disability while at work to return to work. They end up leaving the workplace because accommodations are not made for them or there is no clear pathway for them to progress back into employment, or to change employment if they need to. Also, there is not a system of supported employment for people who require more intensive and ongoing support. Plans were in place for that as part of the comprehensive employment strategy that never got off the ground. Something extra is required for those people who have more severe disabilities that require extra support. There are many comparisons with Europe and a good deal of data. Our own census data will be published later this year.