Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of positions he will make available for persons with a disability or special needs as part of the current recruitment campaign for clerical officers and other grades in the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20079/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the civil and public service is an equal opportunities employer and all recruitment campaigns are conducted in strict compliance with the Codes of Practice set out by the Commission for Public Service Appointments. Codes include the Code of Practice governing the External and Internal Appointments of Persons with Disabilities to Positions in the Irish Civil Service and Certain Public Bodies, available at www.cpsa.ie.

Public service bodies are also subject to specific legal obligations in the Disability Act 2005. For example, Part 5 of the Act sets out the requirement of public service bodies:

- to promote and support the employment of people with disabilities;

- to comply with any statutory Code of Practice;

- to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities;

- to report every year on achievement of these obligations.

The National Disability Authority (NDA) reports on compliance with this 3% and the 3% target for the employment of people with disabilities in the public service remains in place.

You may also wish to note that a number of Departments and Offices in the civil service are participants in the Willing Able and Mentoring (WAM) Programme which is a paid mentored work placement programme aimed at graduates with disabilities.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with disabilities was agreed by the Government last year.

One of a number of key performance indicators in the strategy requires two things to be considered as follows;

- commence a review of the Commission for Public Service Appointment's (CPSA) Code of Standards to ensure that they fully support the employment of people with disabilities in the public service; and

- the establishment of special public service competitions for people with disabilities to meet identified shortfalls in public service employment targets, including where appropriate the provision of alternative recruitment channels for people with disabilities, with work in that regard to be taken forward by the Department of Public Expenditure in consultation with the Public Appointments Service (PAS);

Consideration of these key performance indicators has commenced.

In the context of the implementation of the Strategy, it has been agreed in principle to increase the public service employment targets on a phased basis from 3% to 6%. This decision requires the making of formal statutory instruments by individual Ministers under Section 47 of the Disability Act 2015.