Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 487: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide the provisions of the 2005 Disability Act and other legislation as to the proportion of employees with a disability in the public sector; and if these guidelines are being adhered to. [29096/12]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 488: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people with disabilities known to be working in the public sector, in the most recent year for which figures are available. [29097/12]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 487 and 488 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 the overall monitoring and reporting role under the Act. The most recent NDA Report, published in 2011 and based on 2010 data, indicates that the requirement to report was fulfilled by all public bodies; all Government Departments exceeded the 3% target; and the proportion of staff with disabilities reported across the public service as a whole was 2.7%. The total number of people employed in the public service who disclosed a disability was 5,748. Reports on compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 on the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector for 2006 to 2010 inclusive can be found on the NDA website, www.nda.ie.