Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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255. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for a summary of the training currently in place throughout the civil service and public sector to ensure compliance with Acts (details supplied); and the monitoring in place to ensure compliance throughout the civil service and public sector with same. [38287/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform have responsibility for OneLearning, the learning and development platform available to all civil servants, which offers the following courses, underpinned by equality and public sector duty legislation, to provide attendees with knowledge and the skills to create an inclusive workplace;

• Equality and Human Rights: Understanding your Role,
• Authentic and Inclusive Leadership,
• Managing for an Inclusive Workforce,
• The Learning Management System hosts the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) e-learning module ‘Equality and Human Rights in the Public Service’.

Monitoring of the Acts is largely carried out independently by the National Disability Authority and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent statutory body, established under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014. The Commission has a broad statutory remit in relation to the protection and promotion of human rights and equality under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014.The Act provides that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be independent in the performance of its functions.

It has been accepted that the Minister would not answer questions about the Commission's functions as it could mislead Members of the Dáil, the media and the general public to believe that the Commission reports to the Minister. The Commission will therefore respond directly to the Deputy.

The Irish Sign Language Act 2017 is not subject to ongoing monitoring but is subject to a review of the operation of the Act every five years. The National Disability Authority published the last review in 2021. The next review is due in 2025.

Under Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, the National Disability Authority carry out annual monitoring of the number of persons with disabilities working in the public sector. Under Part 3 of the Disability Act the National Disability Authority are required to monitor the implementation of the Code of Practice on accessibility of public services and information provided by public bodies. There is no specified timelines on how often this monitoring is to be carried out unlike Part 5 of the Act.

In relation to the EU Web Accessibility Directive, public sector bodies in Ireland must ensure their websites and mobile applications are accessible to everybody, including people with disabilities. The European Union (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 came into force on 23 September 2020. The National Disability Authority is named in Irish Regulations as the National Monitoring Body for the purposes of monitoring compliance with and reporting on the EU Web Accessibility Directive. National Disability Authority conducts both Simplified and In-depth and mobile app reviews on a large number of public sector websites and mobile apps on an annual basis.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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256. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a summary of the rules/guidelines/best practices in place throughout the civil service and public sector to ensure disabled persons are recruited and promoted throughout the civil and public sectors equally and fairly. [38288/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Responsibility for central Civil Service HR policy rests with my colleague the Minister for Public Enterprise and National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, who is best placed to provide a summary of rules/guidelines/best practices in place.

My Department is leading across Government for the development of the next National Disability Strategy (NDS), due for publication in 2024. The next NDS will include action on employment as a cornerstone issue, and will give due consideration to the supports necessary for the employment and advancement of disabled persons in the civil and public sector.

In 2018, Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which articulates the rights of disabled persons to work on an equal basis with others. The UNCRPD stipulates that State Parties shall safeguard and promote the realisation of the right to work by taking appropriate steps, including the employment of persons with disabilities in the public sector.

Government is committed to delivering on this obligation and in 2023, I was proud to commence the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, which sets a statutory employment target for disabled people in the public sector, increasing from 3% to 4.5% by 2024 and to 6% by 2025. Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 details the obligations public bodies have to promote and support the employment of person with disabilities. Compliance with Part 5 is monitored by the National Disability Authority, who have developed a Code of Practice on the Accessibility of Public Services and Information provided by public bodies.

My Department also funds Employers for Change, a programme under the Open Doors initiative, the goal of which is to empower employers with all the information and advice needed to hire, employ, manage and retain staff with disabilities. Employers for Change have published a Guide to Reasonable Accommodations where under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015, employers are obliged to provide reasonable accommodations to support disabled employees and alleviate substantial disadvantage.