John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is good to be back again. The budget is coming up in a couple of weeks and I wish to raise two related matters with regard to disability. This is the first budget to follow Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is an opportunity of having and a necessity to have a budget that has something for disability across a range of Departments. There was a wonderful launch this morning of a new programme within the Houses of the Oireachtas called Oireachtas work and learn, OWL. The first ten people to partake, mainly young people with an intellectual disability, will be here for one year as interns. Great support is given by the Houses of the Oireachtas services and the staff, which I commend, and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, is underwriting the quality of the training and support.

After the year is up, those people need to move on to what I would simply call real jobs. The Ceann Comhairle said this morning that this is the first parliament in the world to initiate a programme like this. WALK and KARE are the two organisations supporting the programme, and this morning the director of services from WALK, Catherine Kelly, said that only 1% of the people on the intellectual disability database are in real jobs. We have a huge job of work to do. We have pretty much tackled the mainstream unemployment issue in that we are down to almost zero unemployment, so it is high time that we dealt with this other issue.

I ask the Deputy Leader if the Seanad can find some way to acknowledge those ten interns practically and welcome them. Can we find a way where Members can get to meet them one to one? It is the old-fashioned aspect of contacts and support that will help those people into employment.

The second related point I wished to raise is that tomorrow is the second iteration of the annual Make Way Day where more than 18 local authorities, a number of disability organisations and people with disabilities are going out to point out - largely through a social media campaign - the infringements on the capacity for people with disabilities to be able to walk unhindered through the street and down the high streets. There are cars parked on pavements, furniture from businesses is out on the street and there is refuse and so on. These are all practical things. I congratulate those who have been involved in this campaign. Congratulations also to Listowel for the Tidy Towns result. Ease of access is an important issue in having tidy towns.