Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The hub in Skibbereen is a great example of a remote working hub but if one lives in a rural area, one needs transport, in many instances, to get to it. The hub is doing its bit to provide remote working opportunities but there is no public transport available for people to get to it.

I encourage the Minister to help his colleagues in other Departments to consider how their responsibilities relate to employment prospects among disabled people. We need to develop robust policies to tackle malpractices within public services. The Disability Participation and Consultation Network highlighted that policies around returning to work after acquiring a disability need to be revised. The Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters heard examples of people unable to return to their public sector jobs because they are not being given the flexible arrangements that they need.

As a former Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney will be aware that many disabled people are excluded from careers in the Defence Forces. What kind of message does that send? Representatives from the Independent Living Movement Ireland appeared before the disability matters committee and pointed out that they could contribute to desk work, strategy and logistics, all of which are vitally important. At a time when the Defence Forces are severely understaffed, it is just illogical as well as discriminatory to exclude a whole cohort of people.

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