Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

So people with disabilities are completely locked out because everything has moved online. People often say that information or a service is really accessible now because it can be accessed by phone. However, if the technology is inaccessible by persons with disabilities then that situation is akin to standing outside of a building that has its doors locked.

I wish to inquire about the role the State plays in employing people with disabilities. The need for more flexible and part-time roles in the public service, and issues with the process used by the Public Appointments Service, have been mentioned in the submission. How can the State improve what it does? We can set targets and targets are set but it cannot simply be a case of saying, "we have set a minimum target and we will have ticked that box once we have reached that target." Our guests have said that we need to embrace people with disabilities for all that they can do rather than judging how we can accommodate, so we should only consider the positive. While the State does a decent job in some areas, I want our guests to tell us ways to do more. I mean in a positive way and not in the sense of just making reasonable accommodation, ticking that box or achieving a minimum standard. To follow the positive message of the witnesses, how can we get the State to reflect that outwards to attract more people?