Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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614. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the absolute and relative number of persons with disabilities employed by his Department in each of the years 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020; if these persons are in full-time or part-time roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4528/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Part V of the Disability Act 2005 requires that public bodies promote and support the employment of people with disabilities and ensure that 3% of staff employed by them are people with disabilities. The requirement applies to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Resource, Innovation and Science and certain of its aegis bodies.

My Department which was established on 23 July 2020, currently has a total of 136 staff and as at 31 December 2020 five staff members, representing 3.68% of all staff, have declared a disability.

The Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities for 2015 – 2024, commits the Government to progressively increasing the statutory target for the employment of people with disabilities from 3% to a minimum of 6% in the public sector by 2024.

While the assistance of the Public Appointments Service is sought for the majority of recruitments in my Department, my Department is committed to supporting staff members with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodation where required.