Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 350: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons with disabilities employed in his Department; the percentage of the total staff that this represents; the human resources policy of his Department with regard to the recruitment of persons with disabilities; the qualification criteria for persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8899/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The current position in my Department is that 155 or 3.3% of the total staff of my Department are persons with disabilities. The majority of people with disabilities who are employed in my Department were recruited by way of competitions conducted by the Public Appointments Service, PAS. Persons with disabilities can avail of two recruitment processes operated by PAS, standard open competitions and confined competitions held specifically for persons with disabilities. The entry requirements and the standard necessary to pass these confined competitions are identical to those pertaining to the open competitions. My Department works closely with PAS to ensure best practice regarding the recruitment and assignment of staff with disabilities.

My Department is directly responsible for the recruitment of its services grades staff. Recruitment for these grades is conducted through advertisement with PAS. A number of services grade staff in my Department are persons with disabilities. The Department also engages in some direct recruitment of temporary staff outside Dublin to cover short-term absences such as the summer term time period or maternity leave. The Department is committed to ensuring that its human resource practices, including recruitment, are fully in line with Civil Service policy on equality of opportunity. Under that policy, a range of measures have been put in place to ensure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination on any of the nine grounds covered by equality legislation, including disability.