Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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228. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the target of his Department and subsidiary offices throughout the country regarding employment of persons in the special category with disabilities and if the target being achieved; the total number of employees in that category currently and the percentage of the total workforce in his Department that it represents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24607/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Disability Act 2005 stipulates, among other things, that a public body shall ensure, unless there is good reason to the contrary for not doing so, that not less than 3% of people employed by it are persons with disabilities. My Department is complying with this statutory target for the employment of people with a disability. The most recent data available shows that 3.3% of staff have declared that they have a disability; this corresponds to 114 employees within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

My Department is committed to providing the supports necessary to enable staff with disabilities to participate fully in the workplace and it is also supportive of initiatives to provide work experience placements to people with disabilities. The most recent initiative which my Department participated in is the Job Shadow Initiative, which is a project designed to bring people with disabilities and local employers together in the spirit of collaboration to enable job seekers explore the world of work. In addition my Department provided two 6 month placements under the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme during 2012, which offers paid mentored work experience to graduates with disabilities. My Department plans to participate again in the WAM Programme during 2013.

In relation to the State Bodies that come within the aegis of my Department, during 2012, the following bodies met the statutory requirement: Bord na gCon, Coillte Teoranta, Teagasc, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and Aquaculture Licensing Board (ALAB). The bodies that did not achieve the 3% target are: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) - 2.68% (up from 2.14 in 2011); Bord Bia (BB) - 1.1% (same as 2011); Irish National Stud (INS) - 0.0% (same as 2011); Veterinary Council Ireland (VCI) - 0.0% (same as 2011); National Milk Agency (NMA) - 0.0% (same as 2011).

The VCI and NMA employ 4.5 and 5 people respectively. The National Disability Authority monitors these statistics and has accepted these returns in the past. Each of the other three agencies are subject to the current recruitment embargo.