Written answers

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Equal Opportunities Employment

9:00 pm

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 486: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to ensure the implementation of the quota for the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector. [18662/08]

Photo of Kathleen LynchKathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 487: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to ensure that the 3% disability employment target for public services is met. [18665/08]

Photo of Dermot AhernDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 486 and 487 together.

Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 provides for a statutory target, currently set at 3%, for the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector. Part 5 also provides a framework for monitoring the employment target in all public bodies by committees under the aegis of relevant Ministers of the Government. Under the Act, public bodies are required by 31 March each year to submit reports to monitoring committees on their compliance with the target; the monitoring committees are required to report on such compliance by 30 June each year to the relevant Minister and the National Disability Authority (NDA).

The Department of Finance is responsible for monitoring the target in relation to all Government Departments and public bodies whose staff are civil servants. In the case of other public bodies the target is monitored by the parent Department. The NDA has an overall monitoring and reporting role under the Act.

Last year the NDA prepared its first report under Part 5 of the Act on the employment position in 2006. This report was submitted to the Minister of State with Responsibility for Disability and Mental Health, Dr. Jimmy Devins, T.D. who arranged for submission of it to the Government. The report was published by the NDA on 4 January 2008. The outturn figure of 5.3% was based on a staff census return rate of 45%.

Following the first year of reporting under the Act, the process was reviewed by the NDA in consultation with my Department and other Government Departments, and revised reporting formats have been agreed and are currently being used to gather 2007 data.

2007 data relating to public bodies are to be submitted to Ministers and the NDA by 30 June 2008. The NDA is then due to submit the second statutory report on the 3% employment target to the Minister of State by 30 November 2008 and that report will be forwarded to the Oireachtas library.

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