Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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633. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the Programme for Government’s commitment to double the target for employment of people with disabilities in the public service to 6%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29760/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister for Disability I am fully committed to ensuring that more people with disabilities are employed in the public service. The public sector must show leadership in this area.

Part 5 of the Disability Act, 2005 sets out obligations on public bodies to promote and support the employment of people with disabilities. These obligations previously set a minimum target such that 3% of public sector workers should be persons with disabilities.

As per the commitment in the Programme for Government, we are, on a phased basis, doubling that statutory target for the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector via the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 which I commenced in April of 2023. The Disability Act was amended and the minimum target was doubled from 3% to 6%. This increase will occur on a phased basis - to 4.5% in 2024, and to 6% in January 2025.

The National Disability Authority (NDA) prepares an annual report on compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act each year. The most recent Report relates to figures for 2022. The then minimum target of 3% was exceeded by the public service as a whole for the twelfth year in a row, and stood at an overall figure of 4.1 %.

Although there is certainly work to be done to ensure that the 6% target is met, the overall trend in recent years is encouraging. The report on compliance in 2022 indicates that 48.4% of public bodies were already meeting the new target of 6%. This represents a positive increase on the previous year's figure of 36.6%. In 2022, the overall number of public sector employees reporting a disability increased by 18% on the previous year's figures.

I am pleased to see this upward trend and the more inclusive pathways into the public sector workforce that are being developed. This will help to lay the foundation towards reaching the new 6% target in and from 2025.