Dr. Aideen Hartney:

I thank the Chair and the members of the committee for the opportunity to present on this topic. The NDA provides independent and evidence-informed advice to Government on policy and practice relevant to the lives of disabled people. We also incorporate a centre for excellence in universal design, promoting the design of buildings, products, services and ICT so they can be accessed, understood and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability.

I will begin with a few key statistics that are worth considering. Data available from the CSO show that only 36.5% of disabled people aged between 20 and 64 are in employment, compared to 72.8% of the non-disabled population.

Among people with a disability who are employed, 14.8% are self-employed.

More than one third of people in receipt of disability allowance would like to work, if the conditions were suitable. Approximately three quarters of people of working age with disabilities have acquired their disability between the ages of 18 and 65, many of whom have a prior connection to employment.

NDA research shows people with disabilities experience consistent poverty at more than twice the rate of their non-disabled counterparts. Being at work helps reduce this risk, although we know that disabled people still experience deprivation at a higher rate than the rest of the population.

Article 27 of the UNCRPD recognises the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others. In Ireland, progressive realisation of this article is being driven through the comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities, a ten-year whole-of-government approach to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. The national disability inclusion strategy also has a commitment in this regard. The NDA carries out independent annual assessments of progress on both strategies.

The Disability Act 2005 requires a minimum of 3% of public sector employees to be employees with disabilities. The authority monitors compliance with this Part of the Act, Part 5, and our 2020 report shows that the sector has achieved a level of 3.1%. Legislation to increase the minimum target to 6% by 2024 is expected to pass in the coming weeks.

The NDA welcomes progress to date on these strategies and policies but advises that there are some key areas where further focus is required, which could be captured in the final three-year action plan for the comprehensive employment strategy currently in development. These include addressing challenges relating to: career guidance; effective transitions; providing supports and reasonable accommodations in the workplace; a programme of vocational rehabilitation; building the capacity and competence of employers; and ensuring self-employment is a viable option for disabled people.

This year, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will work to develop a UNCRPD implementation plan, and we recommend that this should include ambitious goals on employment. Relevant mainstream strategies must also include actions to meet the needs of disabled people, as the pathways to work strategy does, for example.

The Employment Equality Acts oblige employers to provide reasonable accommodations to job applicants and employees with disabilities, unless this would impose a disproportionate burden. Many accommodations cost little or nothing to provide and simply require a flexible approach. NDA research on reasonable accommodations has shown that meaningful engagement with individuals is key to creating an inclusive workplace. We welcome the review of the reasonable accommodation fund under way in the Department of Social Protection, as this will be relevant to those cases where a cost is required to provide an accommodation.

Research delivered by the OECD in 2021 in partnership with the NDA highlighted a number of ways in which the State could promote the employment of disabled people, both directly with employers, and through the public employment service. Many of the recommendations made by the OECD are reflected in the Pathways to Work commitments, and we look forward to the implementation of this strategy over its lifetime.

Self-employment and entrepreneurship are also routes to positive employment outcomes for disabled people. Barriers experienced include fears that income earned might put at risk essential benefits, such as the medical card, self-employed individuals not currently being eligible to access the reasonable accommodation funding administered by the State and lower disability awareness in some local enterprise offices.

In recent years, the NDA has engaged with Enterprise Ireland on how its entrepreneur support programme can be made accessible, through universal design, for all those who have a business idea that can be developed to attract external investment, including entrepreneurs with disabilities. Work is also under way at IDA Ireland to ensure that good practice in supporting employment for disabled people in foreign direct investment firms is applied in their Irish locations.

At the start of the comprehensive employment strategy, the Government committed to increase the percentage of people with disabilities in employment to 38% by 2024, from its baseline level of 33%. The 2022 census will tell us much about how close we are to achieving this target. Our analysis shows that more than 15,000 additional disabled people in the 20 to 64 age range must be at work in 2024 relative to 2017 if we are to achieve this target. These numbers show clearly where increased cross-sectoral co-operation is necessary to drive progress. The importance of the forthcoming final three-year action plan for the comprehensive employment strategy cannot be understated.

I would be delighted to answer any follow-up questions committee members may have.