Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important that we get people like the witnesses in front of the committee. I have a few general questions and then some specific ones. We will cut to the chase and get into the general questions. How many people or what percentage of people with disabilities are employed in each of the witnesses' organisations? Is this information known? Are there any specific targets for disability inclusion? I refer to programmes. What are the markers used to judge success in this regard? Have the witnesses and all their staff been provided with training in respect of equity and disability awareness?

Turning to Pobal, does the organisation have any programmes that encourage self-employment? I refer to work done to get people into self-employment. We are talking about getting people into employment. Has the organisation worked on providing training for people with disabilities to allow them to work in SICAP programmes, including delivering those programmes, in WorkAbility or, indeed, in childcare? Has training been provided to staff with disabilities to allow them to become staff members in their own right after such training?

Additionally, I note the minimum hours for the wage subsidy scheme have, thankfully, been reduced from 22 hours to 15 hours. How is this being seen as being in a positive light for people whom the witnesses' organisation has come across in its WorkAbility programmes? From listening to people, I found the 22-hour requirement was a barrier. The 15-hour stipulation now in place seems good to me, but how do the witnesses see this change based on their practical experience?

To turn back to Enterprise Ireland, how many people with disabilities have LEOs supported in the last year? This is important in terms of targets. If we do not have targets, then we are just putting out that we are supporting people without actually doing so. It was already mentioned that the LEO websites do not follow universal design and accessibility principles, so I am glad to hear this situation is being changed. TU Dublin was spoken about at length by many different organisations here. I think the TU Dublin programme used by many different organisations is something we should be supporting but it is one programme that takes on approximately 16 people annually. It is oversubscribed. There is a screening programme, but it is oversubscribed. Are there any other tailored initiatives that are delivering specifically for people with disabilities? I ask this because I note that many of the comments in the contributions included the words, "and people with disabilities". Of course, all the programmes are for everyone because it would be against the law not to be equal in this regard. Having specific, tailored programmes for people with disabilities, however, is different from just opening the door to everyone, because it is not as easy for everyone to get in the door.

There is never any representation of people with disabilities in the promotional work of the witnesses' organisation. I was glad to hear it mentioned that somebody was going to be a showcase for that context. This has, however, been going on for quite some time. We were here probably three years ago talking about the TU Dublin programme, entrepreneurship and self-employment but not a whole pile has been done in this time since we asked questions about LEOs before. Mr. Swift mentioned that if people with disabilities go into a LEO some special requirements would be delivered. What special requirements are delivered? What do these look like? Mr. Leahy mentioned some pilot programme starting in 2024. I am not sure if I missed the detail, but I ask him to elaborate on the programme.