Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the House. In this Commencement matter, I am seeking an extension of the reasonable accommodation fund to the public sector and, in light of our extensive obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, that it be changed to a person-centred fund rather than an employer-centred fund.

Currently, there are schemes in place for private sector employees and employers. The reasonable accommodation fund enables employers of employees with a disability to take appropriate measures to help them to access, improve or retain their employment by way of the following grants: the workplace equipment adaptation grant, the job interview interpreter grant, the personal reader grant and the employee retention grant. However, public sector employers and employees cannot access these grants. Public sector employers include Departments, State agencies, the HSE and local authorities. Public sector employers must facilitate staff who have a disability through the provision of assistive technology adaptive equipment, facilities, aids and appliances and they must also meet that cost. The critical point is that the management of each Department or State agency must decide where to expend money within their respective departments in the context of budgetary constraints.

I want to highlight one of many cases in the public sector where an employee is being treated disgracefully because of budgetary constraints and the autonomy within each sector.The following are the words of an employee of this State:

I first submitted an application in 2007. Since then, I have been sent to a doctor. I had the NCBI in a meeting with management to show the merits of the device, reports from the NBCI an doctors recommending it. I was told to sell it to them - make a business case, what benefit is it to this organisation as the benefit to you is immaterial. This is now 2021 and we are no further on. They refuse to accept that with this technology I will be able to do my work better, do a more diverse range of work, have more confidence and I would be able to feel and I would be able to progress in this organisation. I am now exhausted and constantly demeaned as I have to go with my begging bowl. I am retracting inwards and I know I am not valued within this organisation because I am visually impaired.

Those are the really upsetting words of a public sector employee. The issue is that it is within the gift of management to provide this employee with assistive technology but only if it is within budgetary constraints. If the fund was extended to the public sector, this sort of begging would not be necessary. A person with a disability, if in employment, should not be dependent on his or her employer to obtain a grant from the State. It should really be individual. We must give the person with a disability autonomy and ownership of the grant. It would mean that the person in receipt of the grant would feel more independent and would have the autonomy to move from one job to another.

A review of the grant scheme would be very beneficial. Under Article 27 of the UN Convention of Persons with Disabilities, every person with a disability has a right to work and should be enabled to participate in the workforce on an equal basis. Under the comprehensive strategy for people with disabilities, the Government has committed to increasing the public service employment target for persons with disabilities from a minimum of 3% to 6% by 2024. Given that approximately 15% of our population is considered to have a disability, a target of 6% is very low. That said, if we open up the reasonable accommodation fund grant to individuals and extend it to the public sector, we will make our society and our public sector fairer for everyone.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank Senator McGreehan for raising this issue. My Department has responsibility for providing labour market services for people with a disability, assisting them with finding paid employment and preparing them for employment through training or employment programmes. Under the reasonable accommodation fund, my Department helps employers and employees with a disability to take appropriate measures to help a person with a disability to access, improve or retain his or her employment in the private sector. The fund is comprised of four types of grant, which Senator McGreehan referenced, namely the workplace equipment or adaptation grant, job interview interpreter grant, personal reader grant and employee retention grant.

It is important to note that the funding the Department makes available through the grants it administers does not impact or lessen the obligation on employers to provide reasonable accommodations. The provision of reasonable accommodations by all employers is a legally enforceable right for both jobseekers and employees. The Employment Equality Acts oblige employers to take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of both employees and job applicants except where to do so would impose a disproportionate burden on them. Under section 47 (1) (a) of the Disability Act 2005, 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".

The Senator is calling for the extension of the grant scheme to public sector workers. As a public sector employer, the Department of Social Protection employes a dedicated disability liaison officer, DLO, who provides support to staff and managers through advice, information and reasonable accommodations. In 2020, 5.75% of total staff disclosed a disability as part of a staff census. New staff appointments to the Department are made aware of the DLO, the officer's role and the supports available as part of an induction and information programme for new entrants. This encourages and facilitates the ability of the DLO to ensure that necessary accommodations are notified and provided as early as possible. The Department utilises the Code of Practice for the Employment of People with a Disability in the Irish Civil Service to guide its induction, awareness and provision of workplace supports training and career progression. Staff assistive supports include ergonomic assessments, Irish Sign Language, ISL, interpreters, subtitling for videos circulated internally, adaptation of premises including bathrooms, doors, parking and so on, software for individuals with visual impairments or dyslexia, adjustments to work patterns, job role adjustments and working from home provisions. The Department also provides specialised equipment such as cameras, magnifiers, large monitors, adjustable desks, custom chairs, headsets and telephone equipment.

In 2020, the Department established an internal equality, diversity and inclusion unit which encompasses and further supports the DLO role, allowing for further resources and more reach to staff with disabilities.In the area of work experience for people with disabilities, the Department is committed to yearly participation in the willing, able, mentoring programme, a work placement initiative organised by the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, AHEAD. The Department has consistently employed candidates from the programme each year.

The provision of such supports in the public sector is a matter for public sector employers and it is my firm view that the public sector should show leadership in this area by providing the supports necessary directly. Given the limited resources available to the Department of Social Protection to support people with disabilities and other groups that are marginalised, I do not believe the provision of such incentives to other public sector organisations is necessary. Where public sector organisations require resources for this purpose, it is a matter to be raised with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in the context of the annual budget Estimates.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I certainly will raise my concerns with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Minister of State's response outlines the valid reasons why his Department looks after the labour force. However, this highlights the lack of acceptance of disability in the workforce. There is unconscious bias and people with disabilities are constantly fighting for access and to be seen as equal in our society. Yes, the Minister of State correctly stated in his response that the public sector should show leadership, but, unfortunately, when it is down to management and personality deciding whether one person is worthy of something and not worthy of something else, that is not leadership. There should be leadership from the Department. I understand the Minister of State's response and am disappointed with it. However, I will take his advice and take it up with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Again, I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I will not ask what Department was involved but the situation she described, frankly, was unacceptable. I reiterate what I said earlier. The Employment Equality Acts oblige employers to take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of both employees and job applicants with disabilities, except where to do so would impose a disproportionate burden on them. Under section 47(l)(a) of the Disability Act 2005, 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". It is not clear to me that the public sector employer the Senator referenced in that case has done these things. Perhaps the employer has, but perhaps not. Each Department has legal responsibilities in this regard, and that is the nub of our response to this.