Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 13, before section 10, to insert the following new section:

10.—Section 16 of the Act of 1998 is amended by inserting the following subsection:

'(7) Nothing in this section shall operate to discharge an employer from his or her obligations to provide full and equal access of employment to persons with disability.'".

This amendment inserts a new sub-section in section 16 of the Employment Equality Act 1998. Section 9 of this Bill goes quite a distance in relieving employers from their duty to adapt their premises for disabled people but the section goes too far in doing so. My amendment seeks to ensure that section 16 of the 1998 Act cannot be used to justify inaction on the part of the employer. It is essential that employers' premises and other public premises should be adapted to facilitate people with disabilities. That is what we would expect these days and our legislation should reflect that point.