Results 12,341-12,360 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I welcome our guests and thank them for their presentations, which were a breath of fresh air. In order to be in line with everybody else who spoke this morning, I am a very middle-aged - probably old aged at this stage - balding, grey-haired man who wears glasses for reading and has hearing aids. There are challenges when you get a bit older. To be clear and up-front from the start, I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: If Ms McGriele is saying that 75% of blind or visually impaired people are not active in the workforce and 8,000 people are in employment, am I right in saying that 24,000 people who are visually impaired or blind could be in employment but are not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: That is huge.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I congratulate the NCBI on what it has done with the small amount of funding it got from the dormant accounts fund. Ms McGriele said the NCBI needs more funding, which is fair enough. The Cathaoirleach does not have any money but we can make recommendations to Departments in that regard. We learned last week that this is over €1 billion in the National Training Fund, which is a huge...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: That would be useful. Perhaps the NCBI could come back to us at some stage. Could Ms McDonagh give us an overview of the two programmes she mentioned, namely, Employers For Change and Towards Work?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: It is useful for people watching to know about this. That is why I asked the question, to give the Open Doors Initiative the opportunity to put the information out there. The Open Doors Initiative will also run soon a third programme for entrepreneurship for people with disabilities with Technological University, TU, Dublin. Will Ms McDonagh say a bit about that, please?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I thank Ms McDonagh, that is excellent. To get back to the witnesses from the NCBI, one thing that jumped out at me was when they said not a single company was willing to make their websites accessible. That is not one company from more than 600 recruitment companies. Could the witnesses speak to that, please? Did the council reach out to all of them and did the companies respond and say...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: We might have to look at this as a committee at some stage to see if we can do something about that. I agree with Mr. Doran that recruitment companies form a huge part of employment at the moment. If somebody has a disability, particularly if he or she is visually impaired, that person cannot access those websites easily. He or she might have someone who can access the websites for him or...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (18 May 2023)

David Stanton: 8. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports, if any, that are made available by her Department to encourage and promote poetry on a national basis; her views on the appointment of a poet laureate to the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22636/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (18 May 2023)

David Stanton: The poet laureate of the Canadian Parliament recently visited the Oireachtas at the invitation of the Centre for Canadian Studies at UCD. She came to the House and I interacted with her outside the House as well. I was struck by the value and importance of poetry, and the fact that they have a poet laureate in Canada. I thought perhaps we should consider having one here as well, so I wrote...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (18 May 2023)

David Stanton: I thank the Minister for her response. I join with her in recognising the work of Poetry Ireland. I congratulate Ms Anne Tannam, who was recently appointed as poet in residence there. I also recognise Professor Paul Muldoon, who is the chair of Poetry Ireland at the moment. I thank the Minister again for her positive reaction to the suggestion. It is amazing that when we make...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (18 May 2023)

David Stanton: I look forward to receiving information from the Minister on the supports that are being made available. I note that this week, The Irish Timeshad a supplement entitled Fighting Words in which there were some very interesting poems written by young people. I would be interested to know what the Minister is doing to encourage and support young people in the development of poetry. Some of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: Will the witnesses tell me more about the Wayfinding Centre that was mentioned?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: It is very difficult for any of us who are sighted to understand what it is like to be unsighted, to be blind.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I am actually dealing with a constituent, a young lady who has a serious disability and needs more time. She does not want to use a scribe or assistive technology. She wants to write stuff herself but the extra ten minutes are not enough. The State Examinations Commission said "No". There is a battle with the commission every time, so I know what Ms Feeney is saying. Ms Feeney...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: Open Doors now has more than 70 organisations involved.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I am sorry, 125. I am behind the times.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: I was right when I said more than 70. Obviously they are engaging. Are they all businesses?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: Ms McGriele mentioned something called the disability confidence digital badge. Will she tell us more about that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Strategy and Impact on Disabled Persons in the Workplace: Discussion (Resumed) (17 May 2023)

David Stanton: That is happening here at the moment.