asked the Minister for Labour the progress to date in implementing the employment quota for handicapped persons in the public sector including (a) the number of people employed under the scheme since May 1977, (b) the percentage of handicapped people now employed in the public sector, and (c) whether the deadlines originally set for the programme will be met.
Written Answers. - Employment of Handicapped Persons.
405.
(a) The National Rehabilitation Board, at the request of the interdepartmental committee which was set up to implement the scheme have carried out a survey of a number of Government Departments and State bodies to obtain a clear overall picture of the types of jobs into which eligible handicapped persons could be placed. The NRB is also arranging to provide a register of handicapped persons considered suitable and most likely to be placed successfully.
The NRB survey report was received in my Department on 30 October and will be presented to the interdepartmental committee in the next week or two. I have made additional staff resources available to the committee to speed up the advancement of the quota scheme when they have considered the report.
(b) It is not possible to give the percentage of handicapped people now employed in the public sector as separate statistics of such persons are not compiled.
(c) Due to the complexities in the implementation of employment quotas of this nature which came to be realised only in the course of the committee's deliberations it may well be necessary to revise target dates, but I am hopeful that existing deadlines can be met.