Mr. Haydn Hammersley:

There also are good practices at the level of different employers. The Deputy mentioned autism, for example, and the opportunity to have job mentoring or mentoring in the workplace is one of the key things for employees on the spectrum. Some companies allow for an alternative to the interview process. These things are done on the level of the employer but in terms of policy to facilitate these, we would say that if you expect an employer to pay for reasonable accommodation or a mentor, then you will have a difficult time. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on the goodwill of employers alone. There needs to always be a possibility for subsidies and state aid. That is crucial. It is good to encourage good practices but to make them work, it needs to be made easy for the employer.

I want to come back on a question from earlier because I said I would check. There was a question about whether there is any reason under EU legislation that subsidies could not be given to entrepreneurs employing persons with disabilities, including themselves. I cannot see in the EU legislation on state aid any reason that would not be allowed. There is no legal reason that could not be done in Ireland from what I see at the moment.