Ms Jeanne McDonagh:

It is about creating a situation where it is okay to talk about disability. As I said earlier, it is not a bad word. One can have open, frank, compassionate and empathetic conversations where the person asking the question is not called out for asking the questions that are coming from the right place.

It is funny that in five days' time it will be the anniversary of the marriage referendum and the Yes Equality campaign. I am reminded that this is what the campaign did. It created a space to ask questions and to ask for information to help people make up their minds around what was a very important decision. It allowed people to have those conversations without it being a situation of, "Why are you asking this question?", and without it descending into a negative thing. It is about creating a very positive environment. People and employers need to be informed. They need to get over their fear. It is easier to walk away and say, "We will not hire someone because they are going to cause problems or I will be before the Workplace Relations Commission", or all of the worst-case scenarios that people imagine. It is very important that such a space is created.

The awareness-raising campaign the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is talking about will go a long way towards helping that, if it is done correctly. It will start that conversation and it will start people thinking about it. It needs to be wider. It needs input from other Departments and from people with lived experience into that campaign to make it the best it can be. It would at least create and spark the occasion where people could start having those conversations. An employer might ask, "Why do I not have somebody with a disability on my team? If it is one in seven and there are seven of us, what are we doing wrong, what are we doing right, what do we need to do, and what practices do we look at?"

Much of our work through Employers for Change and the Open Doors Initiative involves informing people, helping them on that path and imbuing confidence in them and potential employees.