Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 November 2016
150. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection if all staff working in Intreo offices have received disability awareness training; the full cost of training those persons who have not yet received disability awareness training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35268/16]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection supports its staff by offering a suite of disability awareness training, including Disability and Deaf Awareness, Dealing with Blind Customers, and Mental Health Awareness. The Department also offers courses in Stress Awareness, SafeTALK suicide awareness and ASIST suicide prevention. These are available to all staff in the Department, including staff in Intreo Offices. Specific figures for take-up of these courses by staff in Intreo offices are not available. However in the last three years, 2,100 staff attended over 140 instructor-led training courses in these areas. In addition, e-learning courses developed for front line public servants by the National Disability Authority (NDA) and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) are freely available online to all staff via the Department’s Staff Development intranet site. During 2016, in the context of Departmental commitments under Pathways to Work 2016-2020 to extend and intensify proactive engagement for people with a disability, 67 dedicated Case Officers were nominated across the Intreo network. The Department’s Staff Development Unit provided a Disability Awareness Seminar in March 2016 for these Case Officers with speakers from the National Disability Authority and Epilepsy Ireland. This was supplemented by tailored instructor-led training nationally in Employment Supports for People with Disabilities.
Induction and orientation training given to staff highlights the range of Departmental supports and grant-aid available for both staff and clients with disabilities. These include employment supports for jobseekers with disabilities such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, EmployAbility Services and the Reasonable Accommodation Fund.
The Department has a dedicated Staff Disability Liaison Officer who maintains awareness of disability issues and services among staff, including managing the Department’s active participation in the Irish Association for Supported Employment’s Job Shadow Initiative and AHEAD's Willing, Able, Mentoring Programme. The Department also provides translation, interpretive and Irish Sign Language services as required and is committed to the provision of information in alternative formats where feasible.
Ongoing liaison, via the Department’s Disability & Illness Policy Unit, with the National Disability Authority (NDA) and the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) ensures that information on relevant events and seminars is communicated to Departmental staff. As recently as September 2016, Case Officers from around the country attended an NDA Seminar on Supported Employment.
It is estimated that the cost of providing disability awareness training to all staff in the Department would be approximately €150,000.
