Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 September 2012
1207. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding recruiting persons with a disability; the number of persons currently employed in his Department; the number of persons with a disability who have been employed since 1 January 2011 to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37841/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 2,059 staff employed in my Department. The Deputy will be aware that, as part of the process of restoring credibility to our public finances, there is currently a moratorium on recruitment in operation across the Civil and Public Service. Accordingly, recruitment opportunities will only arise in very limited and targeted circumstances. A small number of staff would have been recruited as an exception to the Moratorium during the period in question. It is not, however, possible to say how many of those have disabilities as people are not required to disclose a disability when they are being employed.
I can say, however, that in order to comply with the requirements of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, my Department annually compiles data relating to the number of people working in the Department who have a disability. The data received for the year ending 2011 indicates that the percentage of people working in my Department who have a disability is 5.42%, which is in excess of the 3% employment target.
