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Disability Act 2005.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2006

Tuesday, 7 February 2006

Ceisteanna (6, 7, 8, 9)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Ceist:

6 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38708/05]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

7 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach the progress made with regard to the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40407/05]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

8 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the way in which the Disability Act 2005 has been implemented within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2324/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

9 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the Disability Act 2005 in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2977/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (13 píosaí cainte)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 9, inclusive, together.

My Department is fully committed to ensuring that the spirit and the letter of this legislation are honoured in the way the Department provides its services. We have for many years been conscious of our duty to ensure access to our buildings and services by people with disabilities. At the time of the adaptation of the building for the Department in the early 1990s, many facilities were provided, which have subsequently been improved upon, and we will continue to review facilities and upgrade them as necessary.

To fulfil our obligations under the Disability Act 2005, my Department is establishing an implementation monitoring committee, as a sub-committee of the Department's partnership committee. The monitoring committee will give impetus to progressing disability issues in the Department, with particular emphasis on ensuring that the range of services provided by the Department is accessible to people with disabilities and on engaging staff of the Department actively in the process. The committee will report annually to the National Disability Authority and to me as head of the Department on compliance with the 3% target of the employment of people with disabilities. The percentage of staff with disabilities employed in my Department currently is 3.64%.

The new monitoring committee will review arrangements for providing information to members of the public with disabilities and will establish procedures and set timescales for the provision of information. We will explore possibilities and demand for communications in accessible formats, including use of sign language, braille, audiotapes or any other appropriate method.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The Disability Act provides for sectoral plans to be drawn up by a number of Departments. Does the Taoiseach's Department have an overarching responsibility with regard to the drawing up of these plans and an oversight role with regard to their implementation?

Does the Taoiseach recall that the Act states that the Minister for Finance may, by order, specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in public bodies, the members of whose staff are civil servants, and the public bodies accountable to the relevant Minister? Has any such order been made with regard to the Taoiseach's Department?

Given the minimum requirement under the Act for levels of employment of people with disabilities, are higher targets set? I am interested to know the detail with regard to the Taoiseach's Department is 3%. Will the Taoiseach advise us if that minimum target set out in the Act has been achieved in his Department or have higher targets been set and agreed and, if so, have they been reached? How does his Department compare with other Departments in that regard?

My Department does not have an overarching role with regard to the Disability Act. My Department is one of the Departments which tries to implement aspects of the Act — every Department has been given responsibilities under the Act. My Department was not one of the sectoral areas. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey, works on this issue with the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Education and Science and a number of other Departments.

The monitoring committee in my Department is made up of the key people in the Department, including the heads of the IT unit, the personnel office and employment assistance officers, and an access officer. They have responsibilities under the Act and have been given dates for implementation of the various sections of the Act, a number of which have already been put in place.

We established a committee at the end of last year as part of the partnership process. It reports to the departmental partnership committee and will approve a report on compliance under the Act by each June, by which time the monitoring committee of each Department must report. It also reports to me and the Cabinet committee on social inclusion on compliance with the Act. There are a number of checks and balances to ensure the Act is complied with. The agencies under my responsibility are also involved.

The level of employment of people with disabilities in my Department is 3.64%. We make regular returns to the equality division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the 3% target, which happens a number of times per year. We continue to review progress of the target and introduce positive action measures as necessary to try to increase that figure. Under the new Act, the monitoring committee must establish a reporting system to monitor our actions and information on the 3% target and what we are doing to try to achieve and improve on it.

The Central Statistics Office has a figure of 4.39% of staff with disabilities, the State Solicitor's office is at 3.36%, the Law Reform Commission figure is at 4.45% and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the Attorney General's figures are at 2.3% and 2.59%, respectively, mainly because most of their staff is composed of barristers and solicitors and these figures are based on the proportion of people with disabilities in those professions. The National Economic and Social Development Office, NESDO, which is a small agency, has no such persons at the moment. It is a small area but NESDO is committed to the figure.

Will the Taoiseach indicate what constitutes the types of disability he referred to when he mentioned 3.64%? For example, is someone with asthma or tennis elbow regarded as qualifying under that percentage? Will he indicate how many people in that figure are blind or wheelchair users? Can his Department facilitate guide dog users? I wish to get a picture of how that 3.64% is broken down.

Given that the Disability Act 2005 states that there is an obligation to be proactive in employing people with disabilities, will the Taoiseach say how his Department has demonstrated this approach? Last October, President McAleese launched an excellence in accessibility award. Is the Taoiseach's Department in the running and would he regard himself as having a Department that qualifies for such an award?

Does the Taoiseach believe the wording of the Disability Act 2005 needs some reform?

That does not apply.

I do not want to stray. Before the Ceann Comhairle cuts me off, the Act states "as is practical having regard to its resources". Is this an impediment given that it does not have the strength of requirement that might otherwise be the case?

The personnel of my Department continuously try to be helpful in assisting and recruiting people with disabilities. Whenever they get the opportunity they try to be helpful in terms of mobility within the Department and its accessibility for people with disabilities.

The definition is set out in the 2005 Act:

"[D]isability" in relation to a person means a substantial restriction in the capacity of the person to carry on a profession, business or occupation in the State or to participate in social or cultural life in the State by reason of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment.

The code of practice under which the Civil Service works states that people with disabilities refers to those with a physical, sensory or psychological impairment that may have a tangible impact on their functional capability to do a particular job or an impact on their ability to function in a particular physical environment, or lead to discrimination in obtaining or keeping employment of a kind for which they would otherwise be suited. That code is in place across the Civil Service.

Regarding the national disability strategy and related legislation, resources are not an issue. We must now work on targets that have been set to implement key issues, including sectoral plans in the key Departments. My Department is not one of the line Departments in the sectoral plan but it has several other commitments under the Act, for which there are fixed dates. A fixed monitoring committee examines these commitments and there is a fixed process for reporting on them. Resources are being provided to make the necessary implementation possible and to ensure everyone complies with this.

The Taoiseach led the presentation of this Bill, with the Tánaiste and five other Ministers, when it was published in 2004. He correctly stated it was a key component of the Government's disability strategy and that it had the capacity to deliver world class services for the disabled. Without being political, the problem is that the strategy is dispensed between seven Departments and no Minister or Department has overall responsibility or accountability. Will the Taoiseach consider this? If seven Departments are dealing with something as important and comprehensive as this strategy, there will be no real sense of ownership.

Disability covers several areas. It is mainly dealt with by the Department of Health and Children, but also Social and Family Affairs; Transport; the Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Communications, Marine and Natural Resources; and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The main group working on the national disability strategy comprises the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey, with officials from Departments and agencies. This group remains the monitor of the strategy. Each Department must implement its own section of the strategy.

In my Department there is a monitoring committee and an access office and these fit into the overall partnership process. By certain dates one must report to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on various measures. The strategy is being co-ordinated but each Department must play its part. Dates have been set for implementation. There is co-ordination even though there can never be enough co-ordination when the strategy runs across so many Departments and agencies. There is always a difficulty in that regard but the structure exists and the important point is that people adhere to this.

Each part should be implemented and people should not wait for a line Department to pressurise them on this point. This is a good cause and it is in everybody's interests to have a disability strategy properly implemented. While various bodies must report to one Department, they should not wait to be ordered to do so.

The Taoiseach read the definition of disability in the legislation, with which I am familiar, but my question sought more specific information. Will the Taoiseach supply figures on the number of people in his Department who are, for example, blind or wheelchair users? A sensory disability is a wide-ranging definition. Someone who requires spectacles could be regarded as having a sensory disability. This definition is as wide as it is long and I would like the Taoiseach to be more specific so we can see the level of interaction with people with disabilities.

The people who come within the disability category under the Civil Service code have quite a considerable impairment. Not just anyone is put into that category, as the Deputy knows. I can provide him with the breakdown in my Department of the various ailments, without giving individual details. I believe I have given that information previously.

The Taoiseach advised us that 3.64% was the figure within his Department. Is it a case of the Department having exceeded the base rate of 3% or has a higher target been set which the Department aspires to achieve?

My Department does not have another target. However, it will take any opportunity to increase the amount. The figure of 3% has been in place for some considerable time. As the number of staff in Departments increases, it is more difficult to achieve that 3%. Departments always try to maintain that figure, and increase it where necessary. People move between Departments through promotions and transfers. The first priority is to remain above the target figure. The Department does not believe it should stop because it has more than 3% and it always attempts to improve on it. Some sections within the Department have more than 4%.

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