Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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293. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the way that his Department and public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit meet their obligations for reasonable accommodation under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. [24310/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department meets all of obligations for reasonable accommodation under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015.

The Employment Equality Acts oblige employers to make reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities. An employer must take ‘appropriate measures’ to meet the needs of disabled people in the workforce. This means they must make arrangements that will enable a person who has a disability to.

- have equal opportunities when applying for work

- be treated the same as co-workers

- have equal opportunities for promotion

- undertake training

My Department has a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) who provides additional support to staff with disabilities on an ongoing basis, providing reasonable accommodations as appropriate. The DLO is the first point of contact should staff require additional supports or work-place accommodations. The DLO deals with requests on a case by case basis, working with the individual and liaising with relevant officials and outside agencies, as required.

My Department is committed to supporting employees with disabilities. In this regard some specific measures within my Department include:

- Participation in the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme since 2018 offering graduates with disabilities a 6 month work placement within the Department.

- My Department published its Universal Design and Accessibility Policy and Action Plan in 2020, which aims to demonstrate the Department’s commitment to accessibility, the principles of Universal Design and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities.

- During 2020 and 2021 my Department has run Inclusion Awareness Training and Autism Awareness Training, supporting our commitments under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021. This is set to continue in 2022.

- We have a mentoring programme open to all staff.

The details requested in relation to bodies under the aegis of my Department are a matter for the individual bodies concerned. Arrangements have been put in place by each Agency to facilitate the provision of information by State Bodies directly to members of the Oireachtas. The contact email addresses for each agency are set out in the table below.