The policy with regard to the 3% target for the employment of people with disabilities in the Civil Service is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Finance. As at 30 June 2005, 4% of the staff employed in my Department were classified as having a disability.
The definition of a person with a disability for the purposes of the 3% target is the positive action definition set out in the Code of Practice for the Civil Service, 1994. In this context, the phrase "people with disabilities" means people with a physical, sensory or psychological impairment which may "have a tangible impact on their functional capability to do a particular job; or have an impact on their ability to function in a particular physical environment; or lead to a discrimination in obtaining or keeping employment of a kind for which they would otherwise be suited".
Monitoring data is not collected with reference to the nature of disabilities, persons' grades or qualifications. Only numbers are collected to provide statistics on the employment of people with disabilities in the public service.
The State bodies under the aegis of my Department are aware of the requirement with regard to the 3% target for the employment of people with disabilities but as staff recruitment is a day-to-day matter for each body I do not have details of the level of such employment in each case.
The Disability Act 2005 provides a new statutory framework for the implementation and compliance monitoring of the 3% employment target in the public service. I understand that implementation of the various provisions of the Act in this regard is currently being addressed.