Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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230. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress in implementing the obligation under the Disability Act 2005 to promote and employ persons with disabilities at a minimum rate of 3 % across the public service, with particular reference to the number of persons employed in each of the years 2011 to 2015. [4742/16]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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In addition to the prohibition on discrimination contained in the Employment Equality Acts (which apply to all employers), Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 obliges public bodies in so far as is practicable to take all reasonable measures to support and promote the employment of people with disabilities. There is a statutory employment target of 3% in the public service and the Government has agreed in October 2015 that this should be increased progressively to 6% in the context of the comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities 2015 - 2024. The number of persons with disabilities employed in the public service is monitored and reported on annually by the National Disability Authority. The authority's 2014 report on compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 on Employment of People with Disabilities in the Public Service was laid before the House recently and contains the information sought by the Deputy except for the year 2015 which is not yet available. For ease of reference, the figures for the years 2011-2014 are repeated in the following table.

Table 1: Progress towards 3% Target, 2007-2014