Ms Geraldine Hurley:

The figure the Deputy quoted from the AsIAm report for unemployed or underemployed in the autistic community is a concern and is something we need to look at. From an employment services perspective, we do not retain statistics on the type of disability, including whether someone is in receipt of DA or is a jobseeker with a disability. The service we provide is based on the need a person has for supports to gain access to the labour market and jobs. Putting a disability label or identifier on someone is not required. There is no business need for that because people's needs can vary significantly. There are also GDPR issues regarding that. We do not have a breakdown on the employment services and employment support side of the house on people with autism who are using our services.

If people with additional needs come to us, we have a number of disability liaison officers and our staff are trained in disability supports. We are upping our capability and skills in that area. It is not just general supports that are provided. We have people who are trained to provide specific supports across the range of persons who, at the end of the day, are our clients and who we want to help in the best way possible.