Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to share with the Senators an extraordinary witness contribution at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, Mr. Craig Kelly, who is president of Ability@Work, which is aligned to the Cope Foundation in Cork. He wants to work with employers and prepare them to employ people with disabilities. He has an intellectual disability but, to use his own words, that does not define him. He submitted applications for jobs. In the course of an interview he declared that he had a disability by speaking about his support worker and could see the faces of the people interviewing him drop. He shared his very personal experience of that. He used that experience to empower him. After more support and work, he worked with employers and his aides and supports and turned that around and was able to say he did not want to work with an employer that did not want to employ people with disabilities. That is very powerful.

We have a duty to ensure that all employers are open to proofing their job descriptions so that people with disabilities realise they can apply for jobs. One example that was given at the committee today was the use of terms in job advertising such as "excellent communicator" or asking for a driver licence when a job does not involve any driving. There are some ridiculous things that prohibit people from even applying for a job. We should turn that on its head to ensure that every job is proofed so that somebody with a disability can apply because we want workplaces to be places of inclusion.

I welcome that we have an opportunity to speak about the cost of disability. People with disabilities face poverty. Anything that aids the pathway to work for a person with a disability is important. Any employer out there should engage Mr. Kelly in order to prepare its workforce to work with people and have a diverse and fantastic workplace.