Ms Marion Wilkinson:

I was going to talk about the reasonable accommodation fund.

Our experience of funding projects and speaking to employers is that when they tried to access the fund they found it quite unwieldy and it took a number of weeks to hear back. If two potential employees are sitting in front of an employer and one does not need the reasonable accommodation fund and the other does, the employer will go with the person who does not need it for a job that is starting the following day. A simplistic view is that there is too much administration involved. As I have mentioned, the way the fund is conceived needs to be rethought.

The NDA's advice to the Department is that as the fund is for the person, the person should be the one accessing the fund. Many people whose employers have accessed the reasonable accommodation fund then change jobs but the piece of equipment involved stays with the previous employer with nobody using it. If the funding stayed with the person it would empower the person and it would be far more in the spirit of what we are about.

Some innovations have taken place. The reasonable accommodation passport is a joint initiative between IBEC and ICTU. It is a process the employer and individual can go through. The description of a person's needs comes up only once. It is not something people have to keep going through. It also incorporates the needs of people who are self-employed. We have had a very limited understanding of what the fund could be. What might move the conversation on a little further is when the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission produces a code of practice. We need to think about what the fund is for.