Written Answers. - Employment Equality.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:
153
Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the progress made to date towards meeting the 3% target of people with disabilities employed in Departments and other public bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12810/03]
My Department has a key role in the development of disability equality policy and legislation. As part of that remit, the Department collects data in relation to the 3% target for employment of people with disabilities in the public service, excluding Civil Service data which is collected by the Department of Finance. Although the target has yet to be achieved, there has been a degree of progress over the last number of years. The overall statistics for the public service, other than the Civil Service, at 1 January each year are as follows:
|
Year
|
%
|
|
1999
|
1.72%
|
|
2000
|
1.89%
|
|
2001
|
2.12%
|
|
2002
|
2.21%
|
The figures given for January 2000, January 2001 and January 2002 are provisional figures as returns are outstanding from a number of individual public service bodies. The annual survey relating to the statistics at 1 January 2003 is currently under way.
Each Department is responsible for taking appropriate action to ensure that public bodies under its aegis achieve the 3% target. This principle was set down in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and is reinforced in Sustaining Progress which provides that:
Civil and public service employers will implement agreed codes of practice for the employment of people with disabilities and promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities in line with the Government's 3% employment target.
A monitoring committee established and chaired by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform helps to monitor and guide progress in relation to the target. It has supported a number of initiatives in recent years including: approval of a draft code of practice for use in the public service and exploration of the options for common selection procedures for people with disabilities; raising awareness of the 3% target among, and giving information to chief executives, personnel officers and disability equality officers in the public service through a series of eight regional seminars, and publication of an information brochure; publication of a brochure designed to encourage people with disabilities to consider a career in the public service and promotion of this option at the Public Sector Careers Expo in April 2001; the commissioning of research on the issues and barriers relating to achievement of the target in six public service organisations – the report, published in November 2001 and titled, Research Project on the Effective Recruitment of People with Disabilities in the Public Service, provides an insight into some of the issues which hinder progress and includes recommendations to facilitate improvements; and in partnership with the Equality Authority, the launch of an employer resource pack on 3 December 2002 to assist public service employers in the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. I am responsible for the 3% target for the employment of people with disabilities within the Civil Service.
The annual survey of the position on the employment of staff with a disability in the Civil Service is being carried out by the Department of Finance at present. The December 2001 survey showed that 900 people with a disability were employed in the Civil Service – equivalent to 2.8% of total numbers.
The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness included a commitment to reviewing the operation of the 3% employment target throughout the Civil Service. The Department of Finance commissioned Goodbody Economic Consultants to carry out research into the operation of the target and the career progression of people with a disability in the Civil Service. The resulting report is now available and provides a great deal of useful information about the position people with a disability working in the Civil Service. The report makes recommendations for practical steps which can be taken to make certain that the Government's policy operates effectively for the benefit of people with a disability.
The Civil Service equality unit in the Department of Finance and the staff unions are now considering the proposals in detail with a view to improving the existing policy for the benefit of people with disability throughout their careers in the Civil Service.
