Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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96. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he is taking to ensure that more persons with disabilities have opportunities to gain employment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43799/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan, published in July this year, has as one of its actions the publication of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. A second action is to ensure a coordinated approach to support persons with disabilities to progress into employment through this comprehensive employment strategy. The aim of these actions is to ensure that more people with disabilities can access work and that services at local level are coordinated and there is joined up access across agency boundaries to deliver more seamless supports to people with disabilities.

At my request, the National Disability Authority and Mr. Christy Lynch (founder member of the Irish Association of Supported Employment) have initiated the drafting of a comprehensive employment strategy. A draft framework for the Strategy was agreed by the Senior Official's Group on Disability on 30 July and subsequently issued for consultation with all relevant stakeholders in August. It is anticipated that the Strategy will be finalised in the first quarter of 2014.