David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 768: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 281 of 23 May 2006, if he is satisfied that his Department has met the 3% employment quota for people with disabilities; the percentage of people with disabilities employed in his Department; the number of people with disabilities hired from outside the civil service for each of the years from 2002 to date in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2594/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Department is committed to meeting the 3% target in accordance with its obligations under the Disability Act 2005.

According to its records, the current number of staff with a disability serving in the Department in January 2008 was 141 or 2.92% of total serving staff. This figure can fluctuate from time to time due to staff churn.

Under the self-disclosure survey, "Count Me In", developed by the National Disability Authority (NDA) for use by public bodies, 112 members of staff disclosed that they had a disability. The National Disability Authority is currently preparing another survey.

The majority of people with disabilities who were recruited in the Department were recruited by way of competitions conducted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). There are two competition methods which PAS use to recruit persons with disabilities; the standard open competitions and confined competitions held specifically for persons with disabilities. The format in which records are held in the Department are not amenable to analysis to show the number of staff with a disability recruited by open competition for those years in question.