Vol. 513 No. 4
96 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the action, if any, his Department is taking or will take, having regard to his Department's overall responsibility for equality matters, to ensure that all Government Departments and agencies meet the 3% target level for the employment of people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2527/00]
Responsibility for the monitoring of the 3% target level for the employment of people with disabilities in relation to the core Civil Service rests with the Department of Fin ance and, in this regard, I would refer the Deputy to the reply by the Minister for Finance to Questions Nos. 171, 180 and 184 of 1 February 2000.
As regards public sector bodies and agencies under the aegis of the various Government Departments, responsibility for meeting the 3% target for the employment of people with disabilities rests with each Government Department and the individual public sector body or agency concerned. My Department is responsible for monitoring progress towards achieving this target in the public sector other than the Civil Service. To this end, a monitoring committee is working to support and advise in relation to the attainment of the target. The committee is chaired by my Department and is composed of representatives of each Department, of the social partners under Partnership 2000 and of the relevant interest groups.
The percentage of people with disabilities employed in the public sector – other than the Civil Service – has increased from 1.49% in 1995, to 1.52% in 1997 and 1.7% in 1998. The latter figure represents 3,050 persons out of a total staff of 178,980.
The monitoring committee has sought to advance progress through a survey of the position as at 31 December 1998; endorsing a model code of practice on the employment of people with disabilities as being suitable for adoption or modification by each public sector body or agency under the aegis of a Government Department. The code was launched, in September 1999, by my colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, for use in the local authority service; the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Mary Wallace, who has special responsibility for equality and disabilities issues, has written to each Government Minister requesting their active support in progressing the adoption of codes of practice in relation to the public sector bodies and agencies under the aegis of their own Department.
Future work of the monitoring committee will include advising on the conduct of a survey to ascertain progress towards the attainment of the target since the last survey; and identifying reasons for the success by some bodies in achieving the 3% target, as well as the failure in other areas to do so.
My Department will continue to monitor, support and advise public sector bodies and agencies in working to achieve the 3% target for employment of people with disabilities.
