Dr. Aideen Hartney:

I thank the Deputy. The NDA has the statutory monitoring duty for that public sector minimum target. Nearly all Departments have already exceeded the 6% target. The challenge is for public sector agencies to raise their game in that regard. There will be challenges for many in meeting it. We at the NDA provide guidance and support to public bodies as part of our monitoring duty. We make suggestions as to how they can approach recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. We hope that guidance is acted on and agencies follow our advice. There has been criticism that the target is not ambitious enough but an incremental approach is probably more practical for the public sector, given it encompasses a wide variety of organisations of all sizes and types. It is probably reasonable. We always advise in the NDA that it is a minimum target and ask that, where at all possible, organisations should focus on exceeding it. We hope that is taken up. There is a journey to go on. In the next couple of years, reports will show the size of the gap that needs to be addressed.