George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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2. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will outline the targeted actions being taken by his Department to improve the employment rate of people with disabilities, considering that Ireland consistently lags behind the EU average in this area, our constrained labour supply, our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the absence of a Government strategy from 2026 to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33296/25]

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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Will the Minister of State outline the targeted actions his Department is taking to improve the employment rate of people with disabilities in Ireland given that Ireland consistently lags behind the EU average in this area? Will he also comment on Ireland's constrained labour supply, our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the absence of a Government strategy from 2026 to address this issue?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. It is a priority for the Government to narrow the employment gap to which the Deputy refers. Working to enable people with disabilities to pursue freely chosen employment is an important personal priority for me.

The forthcoming national disability strategy will include employment as an important consideration as one of its five key pillars. The national disability strategy is intended as a whole-of-government framework for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Ireland. It is intended to publish this strategy in the coming months. It will contain a number of actions from my Department, including engagement with employers and employer bodies to raise awareness and to foster positive attitudes towards the employment of people with disabilities, which the Minister, Deputy Burke, has mentioned in the House previously.

After the strategy has been published, the Department will establish a new Minister-led forum that will provide a platform for a more structured consultation and engagement with employers on the employment of people with a disability. It is intended to be a subgroup of the Department's enterprise forum and will serve as a means of advancing that employment by discussing employer concerns and potential obstacles. The forum will also showcase best practice examples from both private and commercial semi-State companies. It is my hope that these dialogue processes will enable a better understanding of the range of supports available to employers and of employers' legal obligations to provide reasonable accommodations to workers and job candidates with disabilities. The specific commitments from my Department will be set out in the strategy once it is finalised and approved by Government.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. While I welcome his comments, we really need serious action in this area. As he will know, we are a laggard in terms of our performance. The figures speak for themselves. The right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others is enshrined in international, EU and national policies including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has also been enshrined in the past two programmes for Government. Significant obstacles still remain to the development of pathways to employment for people with disabilities. Disabled people are only half as likely to be in employment as others of a similar working age. At 32.6%, the employment rate among people with disabilities in Ireland is the lowest in the EU, comparing poorly with the EU average of 51.3%. At the same time, our disability employment gap is the highest. Among people who are unable to work due to a long-standing health problem or disability, two in five are in poverty. We really need serious action.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Narrowing that employment gap for people with disabilities is a Government priority. The Minister, Deputy Burke, the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and I are very much focused on this. The forthcoming national disability strategy, which will be published in the coming months, is really important in respect of employment. That strategy is a whole-of-government framework and relates to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The finalisation and co-ordination of the strategy is being led by my colleague the Minister, Deputy Foley. I commend her work in ensuring that the voices of those with disabilities have been central to that development. My Department will lead on the employment pillar of the strategy. The first meeting of the group is envisaged as happening later this year, following the publication of the strategy. We want to address employers' concerns, showcase best practice and promote awareness to support those with disabilities and to ensure legal obligations to them are upheld.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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There are wonderful organisations right across the country working with people with disabilities but the State has really let them down. As I was saying, two in five people with disabilities are at risk of poverty, one in five lives in consistent poverty and one in two lives in deprivation. The additional costs of living for people with disabilities are well documented in the 2021 Indecon cost of disability report. This report stated that the additional cost associated with managing a disability fell between €11,579 and €16,285. That is an additional €233 to €313 per week for people with a disability. This Indecon report was published in 2021, but we have moved no further along. We are still the laggard of Europe. We still fall consistently below where we should be. I welcome the Minister of State's comments, but we really need to see the required action.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Our enterprise agencies are already active in this space. Our local enterprise offices offer tailored supports for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Enterprise Ireland has an open door mentoring programme, which provides mentoring and capability supports, while IDA Ireland connects companies with talent from under-represented groups, including those with disabilities. I hear what the Deputy is saying. We hope to continue our engagement with the office of the Minister, Deputy Foley, to get the national disability strategy published and to launch the Minister-led disability employment forum. That subgroup of the enterprise forum is key. It will provide a platform for collaboration, innovation and problem-solving with employers and promote best practice in ensuring that people with disabilities can enter the workforce.