Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 563: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the percentage of persons with disabilities employed in her Department and in each body under her aegis; the guidelines issued by which this data is to be recorded in the public service; the nature of the disabilities; the levels of employment; the percentage of the total numbers of persons with disabilities in each sector who are holders of third level qualifications; the precise definition of disability which is used in the public service to meet the three per cent quota; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34151/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The most recent data available on officers in my Department who have a disability indicate that the percentage of such officers is 3.03% of staff. The guidelines followed for the collection of this information is set out in the Code of Practice for the Civil Service, 1994. Figures are not available in respect of the number of people with disabilities employed in bodies under the aegis of my Department.

In relation to the wider Civil Service specifically, the Deputy might be interested in the results of independent research carried out on the operation of the 3% employment target. The research identified problems with the existing system of recording and monitoring staff with a disability within the Civil Service. A survey carried out as part of the research, which relied on civil servants to self-declare a disability, shows that 7% of Civil Service staff have a disability compared with the 2.8% reported in the annual survey.

Following the consultants' recommendations, the Government approved proposals to improve the operation of the policy, including the development of a new code of practice for the Civil Service and a more effective approach to monitoring staff with a disability. For this new approach to work successfully, it will be necessary to consider the use of a survey based on voluntary self-disclosure both for new staff on appointment and for existing staff. As this gives rise to a number of complex issues about confidentiality and the use of information, it is proposed that specific guidelines on these matters will be developed as part of the new code of practice for the Civil Service.

Other results from the research in relation to the cohort of staff with disabilities across the wider civil service are that the most common disabilities are physical, 32%, and sensory, 22%; one-third acquired their disability since joining the Civil Service; people with disabilities are to be found at all levels of Government Departments, though there are proportionately more people with a disability at the lower grades; and on joining the service people with a disability tend to have slightly lower educational qualifications than other people but are more likely to work to improve their qualifications, for instance, 33% of civil servants with a disability are studying for a third level qualification compared to 18% of civil servants without a disability.