Mr. Haydn Hammersley:

I agree with Mr. Hennessy and Mr. Jacquinot. We should also mention that despite the fact we have many critical comments on the context in Ireland, the fact there is not much of a culture of sheltered workshops is definitely something that is very positive. It shows something quite admirable in the Irish system.

With regard to other policies that can be very useful, sometimes it is a question of being able to make a match between employers and persons with disabilities. There are good practices in some EU member states, such as job fairs where persons with disabilities and employers can go without making any compromise to understand what opportunities are out there. It is often a stress for employers who have a quota to meet to find employees with disabilities who have the skills they need. Job fairs can be quite a good practice and sometimes quite a good solution.

Mr. Jacquinot mentioned mentoring and support in work. This is a system we see more in Scandinavian countries, where there is a lot of emphasis on personal assistance and the right to have a personal assistant, if needed, in the work setting. Sometimes relatively few hours are needed and sometimes it is just a mentor who is needed to give advice to a person on planning their timing at work. Sometimes all that is needed is helping a person to negotiate or discuss things with their line manager. This can also be very helpful.