The civil and public service is an equal opportunities employer and all recruitment campaigns are conducted in strict compliance with the Codes of Practice set out by the Commission for Public Service Appointments. Public service bodies are subject to specific legal obligations in the Disability Act 2005. Part 5 of the Act sets out the following requirement of public service bodies: - to promote and support the employment of people with disabilities; - to comply with any statutory Code of Practice; - to meet a target of 3% of employees with disabilities; - to report every year on achievement of these obligations.
The National Disability Authority (NDA) reports annually on compliance with this 3% target. In its latest published report in 2012, based on data provided for 2011, 3.9% of staff employed within the Department of Finance had a disability. This represents a total of 11 employees in this category. This exceeds the 3% target outlined in Part 5 of the Act.