Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 10 April 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion

Mr. Donal Leahy:

No. Enterprise Ireland does not. We do have levers with employing companies. We would have agreements with them when we are providing funding and so on. We do not, though, provide targets for green credentials, disability or equality. We do not impose those types of measures. What we do is to ensure that entry to programmes for people with disabilities is on as level a playing field as possible. In our standard contract, Enterprise Ireland grant recipients are required to comply with relevant laws. If they are not meeting the minimum requirements, there is a mechanism in place to address such a situation. If the Workplace Relations Commission, or some other body, such as an independent tribunal, says those recipients are not meeting the rules, we have the ability to claw back or not provide grants. In newer instances in this regard, there are compatibility requirements for horizontal principles. I refer to ensuring these are complied with. When we are providing grants for certain schemes, the direction we are going in with them is that there is a specific requirement that EU requirements for equality and other provisions must be met. This is monitored, especially by the EU. This process may not be as direct as the Deputy would like it to be, but we do have certain provisions in place.

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