Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which his Department is meeting the agreed national target figures for employment of persons with a disability; and when in each case this target will be met or surpassed. [16104/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is fully committed to promoting and supporting the employment of people with disabilities, as set out in Part 5 of the Disability Act (2005). The Disability Act also obliges public service bodies to meet a target of 3% of their staff being employees with disabilities. My Department has met, and exceeded, this 3% target.

Given the current restrictions on the recruitment of staff to the public sector, the scope for providing further employment opportunities is clearly limited. However, my Department continues its efforts to employ and accommodate people with disabilities in other ways. For example, it has participated in the Willing, Able and Mentoring (WAM) programme each year since 2006. The purpose of this programme is to provide work placement opportunities for graduates with disabilities in the Civil Service.

My Department also participated this week in the Job Shadow Initiative, a special work experience scheme administered by the Irish Association of Supported Employment, which enables people with disabilities to shadow a workplace mentor for a day.