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State Bodies

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2021

Tuesday, 15 June 2021

Questions (425)

Gerald Nash

Question:

425. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department or any of the bodies under his aegis or the publicly funded bodies of the IPA and the ESRI have persons employed in roles (details supplied) for any section of the community identified for protection under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30820/21]

View answer

Written answers

I wish to advise the Deputy that the role of the Equality Officer and Equality Team are the responsibility of the HR Strategy Unit of my Department, with the role of Access Officer being provide by the Facilities Management team. The promotion of Equality, Diversion and Inclusion is central to the strategies and practices of the HR Strategy Unit. In terms of raising awareness about disabilities within my Department, a number of initiatives are in place:

- The Diversity and Inclusion sub-group within the PERspectives group, a cross-grade, cross-divisional staff forum to support the Department’s People Strategy, contributes to the cultivation of equality and a diverse and inclusive culture across the Department;

- To mark the 2019 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), all staff in the Department were invited to complete the online Disability Equality Training offered by the National Disability Authority (NDA). A presentation to raise awareness about autism was delivered by AsIAm (Ireland’s largest autism charity) to mark the 2020 observance;

- New hires in my Department receive a PDF of the Code of Practice for the Employment of People with a Disability in the Irish Civil Service (2007), as well as a welcome letter from the Department’s Disability Liaison Office (DLO) along with FAQs on Disability prepared by the National Disability Authority (NDA); and

- The induction of new hires in the Department includes a presentation and Q&A session with the Disability Liaison Officer.

The Civil Service is strongly committed to equality of opportunity in its employment practices for all individuals. The Dignity at Work Policy aims to promote respect, dignity, safety, and equality in the workplace. This commitment is demonstrated and documented with key Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) actions in the People Strategy for the Civil Service; Our Public Service 2020; the Programme for Government (particularly on disability and migrant integration); Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities (2015-2024); and Migrant Integration Strategy.

As set out in Circular 11/2001, should a reported complaint fail to be resolved at an informal stage, civil servants have the opportunity to make a formal complaint under the Equal Status Acts, in accordance with the documented grievance procedure.

Details of the implementation of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty by my Department are set out on the gov.ie website at this link: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/5df24-public-sector-equality-and-human-rights-duty/.

The position regarding the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out in the table below.

Equality Officer employed

Equality Officer employed

Access Officer employed

Equality team employed

IHREC Public Duty implementation team employed

Documented complaints mechanism for persons with a disability in place

Office of Public Works (OPW)

The Office of Public Works does not employ a dedicated Equality Officer for the purposes of complying with the Equal Status Acts 2005-2015.

The OPW has a designated Access Officer for building access related to section 25 of the Disability Act. Responsibility for ensuring access to services under section 26 of the Act, accessibility of services supplied under section 27 of the Act, access to information under section 28 of the Act and access to heritage sites under section 29 of the Act is distributed across the organisation on a functional basis according to the type of goods, services, information and site access being designed, built or provided. Specified access officers for each of these provisions have not been appointed in the Office of Public Works.

The Office of Public Works employs a Human Resource Management team with responsibility for employment equality. This includes a dedicated Disability Liaison Officer to support OPW employees with disability.

Having regard to its functions and purpose, the OPW does not have or require an implementation team to drive its compliance with the IHREC public duty.

The OPW has a Customer Charter in place that includes a documented complaints mechanism for customers including those with disability. Through its dignity at work policy, the OPW has a documented complaints mechanism for all employees including those with disability.

National Shared Services Office (NSSO)

One officer responsible for EDNI – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

No. However, the NSSO works with Access Officers in each Public Service Body (PSB) in the event that any customer or employee of that PSB may require further assistance. The NSSO also intends to further examine its provision of services in line with the Code of Practice and as part of a programme of continuous improvement generally. In relation to buildings, this role is covered by the facilities team and H&S officers. In addition,the NSSO has a dedicated DLO to assist staff.

One officer responsible for EDNI – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

No

The Disability Liaison Officer assists staff with reasonable accommodation requests. Complaints mechanism for persons with a disability can be addressed to the Personnel Officer or through the Dignity at Work process whichever is most appropriate. Complaints from members of the public in relation to disability can be made to the Access Officer.

Public Appointments Service (PAS)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Office of the Ombudsman

Yes

Yes

Yes – Public Sector Duty Committee

Yes

Yes - Disability Liaison Officer

State Laboratory*

No

The Access Officer role is included in the Corporate Services Manager role.

No

No

The Disability Liaison Officer assists staff with reasonable accommodation requests. Complaints mechanism for persons with a disability can be addressed to the Personnel Officer or through the Dignity at Work process whichever is most appropriate. Complaints from members of the public in relation to disability can be made to the Access Officer.

Office of the National Lottery Regulator (ORNL)

Yes

Yes

Staff complement of 10.

Staff complement of 10. The ORNL assigned relevant staff to review in detail the requirements under the Public Sector Duty and how the Office will meet those requirements.

Yes, documented in the Customer Charter and Action Plan.

Economic & Social Research Institute (ESRI)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

A Grievance Policy is in place which allows staff to raise issues. A policy for non-staff is in the process of being drafted and will be implanted shortly.

Institute of Public Administration (IPA)

No dedicated person employed. Any staff member or learner from any section of the community identified for protection under the Equal Status Acts 2000 -2015 is supported through the HR office or the Registrar’s office

No dedicated person employed. Any staff member or client from any section of the community identified for protection under the Equal Status Acts 2000 -2015 is supported through the HR office or the Registrar’s office

No dedicated team employed. Any staff member or client from any section of the community identified for protection under the Equal Status Acts 2000 -2015 is supported through the HR office or the Registrar’s office

This falls under the remit of the HR Office

The IPA does not have a complaints mechanism specifically for persons with a disability. Any person can use the complaints IPA processes

Note: The State Laboratory does not deal with the public. The majority of its staff are recruited through the Public Appointments Service who have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Strategy which recognises their statutory obligation to implement the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty set out under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. A small number of staff are recruited using a listed recruitment agency under license from the Commission for Public Service Appointments.

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