Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has accepted some of the Government's failures but I would not put them at the feet of just the Department. The Minister stood here and said 33% of schools would have a disadvantage in their allocation of hours under the model that was suggested and there was no adequate consultation but the Taoiseach is working to correct that.

On the rates of people with disabilities in employment, a person with a disability is more likely to be at risk of poverty, be socially excluded or fall into addiction. Our rate of people with disabilities in the employment force is 32%. The European average is 51%, so it should be a Government priority to reinitiate the comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. We in the Labour Party understand absolutely the power and dignity of being in work and how important that is. If the rate is 32% here and 51% in most European countries, we obviously have a huge amount of work to do, and the danger is more people with disabilities will fall out of mainstream society and not feel as empowered or as loved and cherished as they should feel.

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