Mr. John Bohan:

I am in charge of the disability policy unit. I will revert to the Deputy with more details on the individual actions. There are 22 actions specific to the Department and those on which we have made good progress are those relating to the previous disability activation project, DACT, programme, co-funded by the European Union. In the past month or so, we have built on DACT by introducing a mainstream programme known as the Ability programme which implemented the findings of the review of the DACT programme. The review included a number of recommendations, including several on systematic engagement with people with disabilities. That recommendation also featured in the Making Work Pay report. For the past year, my colleagues and I have been engaging with disability groups, parents and stakeholders on how this recommendation could be implemented in practice, particularly how the principle of early engagement with young people might be systematised in Intreo services. We have made some progress on that.

The report also recommended the introduction of a ready reckoner, a benefits of work estimator. The Department implemented this recommendation in the past month. We have made good progress on some of the actions.