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Departmental Policy Functions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020

Tuesday, 23 June 2020

Questions (588)

Carol Nolan

Question:

588. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has a diversity and inclusion policy in place; the measures taken to promote diversity and inclusion from 1 January 2019 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11817/20]

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Written answers

My Department is committed to promoting and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workplace for all and has a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion policy in place. This policy, which was launched in 2018 embraces, promotes and builds on my Department's core values in the areas of diversity, equality and inclusion for all employees.

My Department is a long-time supporter of facilitating employment opportunities for people with disabilities and has exceeded the 3% minimum employment requirement in each of the last ten years with the level at 3.5% at the end of 2019. My Department supports the AHEAD (Association for Higher Education and Disability) as well as the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme which aims to promote access to the workplace for graduates with disabilities. Four paid and mentored placements were facilitated in 2019 under the WAM programme. Many former WAM participants have gone on to secure permanent employment.

My Department also participates annually in Job Shadow Day, which is a national project bringing people with disabilities and local employers together for one day to promote equal employment opportunities and highlight the valuable contribution people with disabilities throughout society can and do make at work.

During 2019, in collaboration with the Houses of the Oireachtas, my Department facilitated three trainee placements on the Oireachtas Work Learning Programme (OWL), an applied learning, development and socialisation programme for young adults with an intellectual disability. The Programme aims to support individuals in developing the skills and confidence which is geared towards facilitating them in gaining access paid employment in the open labour market.

My Department continuously focuses on gender balance initiatives and has an active Gender Balance Steering Group in place. This group works closely with Human Resources and other areas of the Department in driving the gender balance function through focus on career opportunities and participation in promotion competitions for all staff, supporting staff with caring responsibilities and work-life balance initiatives. My Department monitors gender pay gap and has seen a 25% decrease in the gap between 2013 and 2018.

An LGBTI+ Staff Network was established in June 2019 and the Network continues to meet on a regular basis. Over 2,000 pieces of LGBTI+-positive merchandise have been distributed throughout my Department's offices as a visible sign of our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

As part of the Equality & Diversity strategy, work was undertake during 2019 on procurement of an eLearning course on Equality & Diversity in the Workplace. The eLearning resource has been developed specifically for the Irish Public sector with relevant Irish case studies included, addresses various aspects of equality & diversity in the workplace including unconscious bias, harassment and discrimination. This programme will be available to staff during 2020. All induction programmes for new employees feature a module on Equality and Diversity.

My Department also contributes to the Agri-food Diversity and Inclusion Forum, which promotes Diversity and Inclusion in the Agri-food sector.

It also participates in whole of Government working groups dealing with social measures such as Gender Balance, the provision of services to persons with disabilities, support for the LGBTI+ community and social inclusion work schemes.

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