Mr. R?n?n Hession:

Absolutely. In many of the conversations we have been having, we have been talking about the duration with the Department and the customer. I often say that the people who determine our unemployment rate are the employers. They decide. We do not hire the people. I know there is a lot of interest. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is very engaged in that, as is his Department. He is looking to improve outcomes there.

The shift is away from employing disabled people as a corporate social responsibility exercise to doing so as a mainstream exercise. People are being recruited into well-paid decision-making jobs that have career progression. A point I often make is that because most disabilities are acquired, for employers it is not just a recruitment issue; it is a retention issue. People who already work for you are going to acquire disabilities during their career with you. In fairness, there are lots of good examples, such as the Open Doors initiative, of employer groups initiating processes. There is a lot of appetite there. There might be a sense of risk that they want to do it the right way and are sensitive about language and what supports they can provide. There might be a concern about whether they can do it the right way and support the person. This leads to caution, so it is really about trying to get over that if we can.