Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 November 2006
76 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on taking an initiative to increase the employment threshold in the private sector for persons with disabilities to 5% and to mandate employers to comply with this threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38043/06]
View answerThe Disability Act provides that each Minister may specify targets for the employment of people with disabilities in the public bodies under his or her aegis. The Minister for Finance may specify targets for the Civil Service generally. It is not intended to legislate to impose a similar approach in the private sector which could be counter productive.
The latest available figures published in the 2004 quarterly national household survey found that there were 110,800 people with a disability or health problem in employment, which was 6% of total employment of 1,835,000. The Department is fully committed to promoting the employment of people with disabilities. In 2006, the total budget provision for FÁS vocational training and employment services amounts to almost €68 million, including a budget of over €47 million for specialist training providers.
The sectoral plan of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment under the Disability Act outlines the Department's key initiatives in promoting equal opportunities for disabled people in the market, which includes the development of a comprehensive employment strategy for disabled people. The key pillars of this strategy are enhancing the effectiveness of employment and vocational training programmes for disabled people, developing financial and other supports to potential employers and disabled employees, and developing measures to promote the continued employment of workers who acquire a disability while in employment.
The answer is very scant. To state that no legislation is intended is most disappointing and to state that legislation would be counter productive is a cop-out. Strategies have been referred to by the health boards but those that are not enforceable are not worth speaking about. Is employment not a major issue for people with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disabilities? Does the Minister of State agree that unemployment levels of people with disabilities are disproportionately high? They are far more likely to be out of work as opposed to able-bodied people, for whom there is full employment. There is something very wrong in this regard.
I am aware that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is not responsible for the public service, which is paying lip service to the 3% quota, sometimes abusing or ignoring it. This is bitterly disappointing. There is some dignity attached to people being employed, particularly those with disabilities. They could have a sense of pride, feel part of society and lead a more fulfilling life. We do not intend fixing this problem. It is already broken. There is no point in these quotas if they are not legally enforceable, with a binding obligation on employers.
Private companies in Europe with more than 50 employees must employ a certain quota of disabled people. In France, it is 6%, in Germany, 6%, and in Italy, 15%. Our European colleagues view this differently. In European countries where there are such quotas, the government imposes a levy if the employers do not meet the quota. This provides an extra incentive. We cannot let the situation in Ireland continue.
Some public service companies get around the quota by reclassifying people. If a grant is available, one or two people can be reclassified to avail of it. Some positive grants and incentives are available to the private sector but there is no obligation on private sector employers to employ a certain percentage of disabled people.
I have met parents of those with intellectual disabilities who are tearing their hair out. They feel their children have an ability that is not used in the proper sense because they are being offered meaningless work. These people wish to work in mainstream employment. I am disappointed by the Minister of State's short, disrespectful response.
I regret that Deputy Connolly finds the answer disrespectful. I could have given more information but I wished to leave time to respond to further questions. The Deputy refuses to acknowledge a number of facts, such as the voluntary nature of our tradition and the appropriate provision of incentives to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities.
I had the honour of speaking at a conference in the National College of Ireland run by the Association of Higher Education Access and Disability, AHEAD, for students in, or graduates of, third level colleges. Considerable progress was acknowledged, particularly in the public sector. They believe the challenge is to inform employers of the incentives available. There is a substantial supported employment programme, endorsed by IBEC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. It was difficult to spread the programme to the regions. The wage subsidy scheme introduced by FÁS would have had a greater impact but it was difficult to disseminate information to the employers, particularly additional information addressing employers' concerns. If Deputy Connolly is serious and not just scoring points, he could assist in disseminating information to employers.
I wish to declare a personal interest. I have a family member who suffered a brain injury and might benefit from some of the programmes set up by the Department.
I resent the Minister of State's reference to scoring points. I acknowledge that much has been done but why do we not have full employment for disabled people as we do for able-bodied people? We should keep this under review and examine how we can achieve full employment. We should do all in our power, which we are not doing at present. Other schemes in other countries are more effective and we should examine them.
