Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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231. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current policy regarding the employment of persons with disabilities in his Department and in each State and semi-State body under the aegis of his Department; the disability quota of his Department at present; if there is an active campaign to increase the disability workforce from the current target of 3% to a minimum of 6% by 2024; if this quota has now been exceeded; if so, the details of same; if there has been an advertised competition relating to the quota; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41599/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have policy responsibility for recruitment to the Civil Service.  The Civil Service is strongly committed to equality of opportunity for all in terms of its recruitment and employment practices.  This commitment is demonstrated in the Civil Service 2030 Renewal Strategy which was launched in May 2021.

The Public Appointments Services (PAS), which is a body under the aegis of my Department, is the principal recruiter for the Civil Service.  PAS plays a central role in attracting a diverse range of talented people from all backgrounds to take up employment opportunities in the Civil Service.

PAS has established a dedicated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit and embedded Diversity Champions throughout the organisation.  In March 2021, PAS launched its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2023 following extensive and ongoing engagements with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Officials from my Department and from PAS sit on the Implementation Group for the National Comprehensive Employment Strategy for the Employment of People with Disabilities 2015-2024.  This national strategy commits to increase the percentage of staff with a disability from 3% to 6% by 2024 (presently 3% under the Disability Act 2005).  This employment target is monitored by the National Disability Authority (NDA) under Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.  At the end of 2019, 5.1% of civil servants self-declared as having a disability.  Returns have recently been collated from all Civil Service bodies for 2020 to inform the preparation of the Part 5 Disability Monitoring Report for the Public Service that is prepared by the NDA for publication on its website.

There are many positive examples under CES of how my Department, working alongside key stakeholders in the Civil Service including PAS, has been involved in promoting civil service employment pathways for persons with a disability.  These include the following:

In partnership with AHEAD, the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme offers graduates with a disability a 6 month mentored paid work placement in either the private sector or Civil Service.  My Department and PAS play a key role in driving the annual intakes of work placements across the Civil Service.  To date, WAM has placed over 490 graduates, of which 47% (230) have been placements across 33 Departments/Offices. Over 80% of WAM graduates have subsequently secured longer-term employment upon completion of their WAM programme.  Officials from my Department are presently scoping the possibility of a confined competition to create permanent civil service employment opportunities for graduates of the WAM programme.

The Oireachtas Work Learning (OWL) programme is an applied learning, development and socialisation programme for adults with an intellectual disability that was launched as a pilot programme in September 2018. It is facilitated by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in collaboration with two sponsor organisations, KARE and WALK.  The goal of the Programme is to provide trainees with the skills, knowledge and ability to gain meaningful employment via the unique opportunity to gain practical work experience, as well as accredited learning over an 11 month period.  Over a quarter of the initial OWL interns have since gone on to secure permanent civil service employment through confined competitions.

In terms of civil servants based in my own Department, the HR Unit developed the People@PERHR Strategy that has a focus on embracing and embedding a culture of diversity and inclusion across the Department through diversity initiatives and training.  This has included the establishment of a vibrant cross-Divisional and cross-grade Diversity and Inclusion staff forum.  My Department has a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) who supports new members of staff with a disability or existing staff who acquire a disability and raise awareness about disability.  New hires receive the Code of Practice for the Employment of People with a Disability in the Irish Civil Service, a welcome letter from the Department’s DLO and FAQs on Disability prepared by the National Disability Authority.  The induction of new hires includes a presentation and Q&A session with the DLO. 

In September 2020, I published a State Bodies Code of Practice Annex of Gender Balance, Diversity & Inclusion.  This requires the Chairperson of each board to submit a comprehensive report to the relevant Minister each year that must set out progress in addressing gender, equality and diversity issues. 

In terms of bodies under my aegis, all have appointed Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) and have proactively made available work placement opportunities for participants on the WAM and OWL programmes, with a number of these being converted to permanent positions.  Embedding diversity and inclusion with each body is a core focus of the respective Management Boards with key ED&I initiatives reflected in existing local HR strategies or those being developed by bodies, such as the EMPOWER People Strategy in the case of the Office of Government Procurement.

I am committed to ensuring that we continue to build a diverse Civil Service that is reflective of the modern Ireland that we serve.