Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item for debate. I have been approached by a number of families who find that there is no work outlet for the disabled member of the family. Such people can avail of sheltered employment for a period of time but this eventually comes to an end because the idea behind sheltered employment is to prepare people for employment in the real world. Yet when it is time to move on, there are often no vacancies available. This is despite the fact that these people want to work, as do able-bodied people. We all want to work because a job gives us a sense of dignity, esteem and purpose in life. We believe we can make a worthwhile contribution to society if we have a job. A job also provides a wage package at the end of the week, which helps people to socialise, lead as normal a life as possible and integrate into society.

Statistics show the poor position of people with disabilities within the job market. The unemployment rate among people with disabilities is 70% in an economy with an unemployment rate of approximately 4.5%. Ireland effectively has full employment but people with disabilities are very badly treated by society. In the mid-1970s, a policy was introduced whereby 3% of people with disabilities were to be employed in the public service. Some organisations in the public sector have met this target and have been seen to make an effort and some have reached rates of 2.7% or 2.8%, but others have not. The organisations that have met the 3% target will not exceed it and cannot be accused of not having made an effort. They appear to regard the target as sufficient. Despite the holding of the Special Olympics and the activities of the Year of the Disabled in 2003, a large section of society is being left behind.

People in organisations that have met or are close to the 3% target will remain in the workforce and, therefore, no new vacancies will arise. People with disabilities who are now coming on stream find it impossible to secure employment. It is time to review the 3% target. Organisations that have not met the target should strive to meet it. However, the target should be upwardly reviewed to come closer to the European average, which, for the most part, is way above the Irish target. The target is 4% in Austria, 6% in France, 7% in Italy and 5% in Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Ireland lags well behind these countries. Only 15% of people with disabilities are unemployed in Germany, a country with an unemployment rate of 7%. People with disabilities are not as badly off in Germany as they are here, a situation which we must address.

I share the concerns of the Irish Wheelchair Association, which claims that the Government is guilty of discriminating against people with disabilities who want to return to the workforce. It claims that when a person with a disability returns to work, his or her carer loses entitlement to the carer's allowance, regardless of the number of hours worked or the money earned. However, a carer can earn €125 per week — €200 in the case of a married couple — and still qualify for the carer's allowance. Therefore, people with disabilities are being discriminated against.

The report of the working group on the review of the illness and disability payment schemes issued recommendations in a number of key areas that should be targeted to improve the situation of people with disabilities. The report recommended reducing the drop-out rate from education among young people with disabilities and increasing job retention rates after the onset of a disability. We must address the issues I have raised because there is a large section of society which is coming into the job market but is being left behind because we do not have jobs for them.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this matter. Responsibility for the policy in respect of the employment of people with disabilities in the Civil Service lies with the Minister for Finance. Responsibility for the policy in respect of employment of people with disabilities in the public service lies with the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the Disability Act 2005. Under the Act, other Ministers are given the power to specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the public bodies accountable to him or her.

Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, which came into effect on 31 December 2005, established a new statutory framework for the implementation and compliance monitoring of the 3% employment target in the public sector. The Act provides that the Minister for Finance, with the consent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, may specify compliance targets in respect of the Civil Service. Compliance targets in respect of the wider public sector may be specified by the relevant Minister, with the consent of the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

To review the operation of the policy on the employment of people with disabilities in the Civil Service, the Department of Finance commissioned independent research from Goodbody Economic Consultants. The research, which was published as employment and career progression of people with a disability in the Irish Civil Service, included a detailed study of a number of Departments which showed that 7% of existing Civil Service staff have disabilities.

In light of the consultants' recommendations, the Government looked in detail at the policy in this area and decided to emphasise two aspects, the continued recruitment of people with disabilities to work in the Civil Service and the need to ensure that there are proper supports tor all staff with disabilities. Given the importance of offering employment opportunities to people with disabilities in the Civil Service and in light of the research and the independent consultants recommendations, I understand that the Department of Finance is discussing a programme of recruitment with the Public Appointments Service to maintain work opportunities for people with disabilities in the Civil Service. It is expected that a work programme will begin in the autumn.

The Department of Finance has also employed a disability advisory officer who is preparing guidelines for monitoring, reporting and recording arrangements for staff with a disability in the Civil Service. Work is also taking place between the Department of Finance and the National Disability Authority to identify new approaches to supporting staff with disabilities, including the possible use of a survey based on voluntary self-disclosure for new and existing staff.

On the employment of people with disabilities in the private sector, my Department promotes a policy of flexibility and supports for employers in regard to the employment of people with disabilities. Under the Government's mainstreaming policy, my Department, through FÁS, seeks to increase the participation of people with disabilities in the private sector through a three-pronged approach involving facilitating progression into sustainable employment through skills development, stimulating awareness among employers of the contribution disabled people can make and encouraging their recruitment and providing specific employment supports for disabled people and employers.

The Department, through FÁS, prioritises training and employment supports for people with disabilities within available resources. This includes a range of schemes and grants aimed at promoting or facilitating the employment of people with disabilities within the private sector, including a wages subsidy scheme. This scheme was launched in July 2005 and is currently being implemented by FÁS. It operates by offering subsidies to employers under three separate strands and employers can benefit under one or all simultaneously. Strand one involves a wage subsidy based on the employee's agreed productivity level, strand two involves grant assistance to cover additional supervisory, management and other work based costs where a company employs more than two disabled people and strand three involvesgrant assistance to employ an employment assistant officer where an employer employs 30 or more disabled workers.

Eligible employees can benefit from the Department of Social and Family Affairs back to work allowance scheme, which allows the retention of a percentage of their social welfare payments and medical cards for three years. Unlike other schemes, the potential exists for both the employee and employer to benefit financially.Other schemes include the supported employment programme, a workplace equipment-adaptation grant, a job interview interpreter grant, a personal reader grant, a disability awareness training support scheme and the employee retention grant scheme.

In addition, the sectoral plan my Department is finalising under the Disability Act 2005 will, in conjunction with sectoral plans being finalised by a number of other key Departments, set the agenda for addressing remaining issues for people with disabilities participating in the labour market. It is an agenda the Government is committed to implementing.