Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On that note, I hope they have a very enjoyable day in Leinster House.

This morning, I had the great privilege of giving the opening keynote address in a very important seminar on equality, recruitment and employment organised by the Mid-West Disability Inclusion Forum. It is a new forum formed to help industry engage with people with disabilities in a move to promote greater access to the workplace. Companies such as Dell, Northern Trust, GE Capital and GCAS, and the University of Limerick, are participants in what is a super project. It has achieved results already and based on the energy at the event I addressed in Limerick this morning, I believe it will achieve many more. An engagement between industry and the University of Limerick to promote equality of access and the breaking down of barriers to people with disabilities in the workplace is a great initiative.

I took the opportunity also to update the attendees on the strategy launched before Christmas by the Taoiseach.It was known as the programme to encourage people with disabilities to get involved in employment. It is called the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities and is now considered a very important strategy with some key focus points in terms of engaging with industry, making work pay, breaking down barriers and ensuring that the right environment is in place to ensure that people have the opportunity to engage. Will the Leader to invite the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the House, possibly in the autumn, to give it an update on the strategy on promoting employment for people with disabilities? Unfortunately, people with disabilities are 50% less likely to get access to employment compared to their able bodies colleagues, which is a great pity. Now that we are seeing a significant number of jobs being created - hopefully, many more will be created in due course - statements in the House on this issue with the Minister would be important. I encourage the Leader to organise that.