Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for Defence the criteria for persons with disabilities for seeking employment opportunities within his Department; the application procedures that apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35898/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Defence fully implements the Government's policy on the employment of people with a disability. Recruitment to and promotion within the Civil Service is governed by the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act, 2004 and by the Civil Service Regulation Acts, 1956-2005. The 2004 Act provides for the establishment of the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) and of the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The CPSA publishes codes of practice prescribing the necessary standards of probity, merit, equity and fairness to be applied by all those carrying out recruitment and promotion under the terms of the Act. The PAS provides a centralised recruitment, assessment and selection body for the Civil Service.

Recruitment competitions run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) are open to all candidates, including those with disabilities, subject to their meeting the eligibility requirements of the competition. Application forms invite candidates to indicate any special requirements they may have when undergoing the selection process and every effort is made to facilitate these requests by the competition managers.

A new approach to the recruitment and placement of people with a disability in the Civil Service is currently being developed with the aim of ensuring that 3% of all recruits to the Civil Service are people with a disability. It is envisaged that this approach will provide for the holding of recruitment competitions confined to candidates with a disability and for the setting up, in regular recruitment competitions, of sub-panels for such candidates.

In relation to employment in the Department of Defence, my Department is compliant with the requirement that 3% of posts are held by people with a disability. In addition the Department is participating in the WAM (Willing Able Mentoring) Project, which is a work experience placement administered by the Association of Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) which aims to place graduates with disabilities with employers in the public and private sectors.