Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Three years is a very long time. It is not good enough that more accurate figures could not be provided today. Therefore, this area needs to be tightened up. There is an obligation on the Minister of State to ensure there is compliance and that everything is done to ensure that this figure is met and even surpassed. Those standards should be put in place. I am not happy with section 47, which provides that a public body shall, "in so far as practicable take all reasonable measures to promote and support the employment by it of persons with disabilities". How vague is that? First, it has to be "practicable" and then "reasonable measures" must be taken. That is written in such a way as to make it easy for somebody to say, "it is impracticable for us to employ people with disabilities".