I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together.
The Disability Act 2005 sets out the legal obligations of public service bodies and includes:
- the promotion and support of the employment of people with disabilities
- compliance with any statutory Code of Practice
- meeting the target of 3% of employing people with disabilities and
- reporting annually on the achievement of these obligations.
The Department of Finance adheres to its requirements as set out by Disability Act of 2005. The Department does not possess information regarding employees who are registered disabled. Staff can volunteer to self-declare a disability.
The Department has a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) in place who works closely with the National Disability Authority (NDA) to ensure that the Department is fully compliant with its obligations under the Act. All new entrants complete a confidential disability survey which is forwarded to the DLO for actioning, where appropriate. These declarations are amalgamated with an annual survey and forwarded to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as part of our annual returns who collate centrally Department/Office annual returns for forwarding to the National Disability Authority (NDA) for publication on their website.
Bi-monthly Disability Liaison Officer Network meetings are held to share knowledge and assist other DLOs across the Civil Service, as well as engaging with staff in accessing training and learning events, where needed.
I wish to advise the Deputy during 2017, the Department satisfied the 3% target of employing staff with disabilities and the Department is aware of the increase in the targets to 6% to be achieved by 2024 and is committed to achieving this revised target.
The following table sets out the percentage of employees with a disability for the years 2014 to 2017. Disability statistics for 2018 are currently being compiled.
|
Year
|
Staff employed
|
No of employees with disabilities
|
% of employees with disabilities
|
|
2014
|
321
|
11
|
3.42
|
|
2015
|
304
|
15
|
4.93
|
|
2016
|
301
|
9
|
3.00
|
|
2017
|
320
|
13
|
4.06
|
During 2016/17, a major refurbishment project was undertaken by the OPW here in Government Buildings on Merrion Street. As part of that project, for example, electronic doors were installed to assist the movement of staff across our campus.
In terms of communicating with persons with disabilities who need assistance with accessing information, the Department has an Access Officer for Information and contact details are available on the Department's website (www.gov.ie/finance).
The National Disability Act 2005 notes the following:
- A person who has a disability is fully competent and capable of duties if he or she would be so on provision of reasonable accommodation
- The employer is obliged to provide reasonable accommodation – “appropriate measures”
- Appropriate measures should be provided unless there is a disproportionate burden on the employer
The Department of Finance has taken appropriate measures to provide reasonable accommodation to staff in their undertaking of their duties.
The Department’s website, (www.gov.ie/finance ) internal intranet and the Build to Share programmes (ePQ, eSubmission, eCorrespondence etc), which are used to by staff in the course of their work, all have software to aid the visually impaired. The Department's Press Office has worked closely with the IT function on a redesign of the Department's Website in order to be more user friendly and no requests for information have been received, outside of the standard written format, for example through Braille, in the period 2016 or 2017.
A ‘loop’ system’ is in place in the Department’s Whitaker Conference Room for the hearing impaired.
In four of the eighteen bodies under the aegis of my Department, employees can volunteer to self-declare a disability. These bodies do not categorise the type of disability declared by employees and therefore do not have specific data on the number of staff employed with intellectual disabilities. The following are the proportions of employees who have volunteered to self-declare a disability:
- Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General – 3.57%
- Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman – 5.4%
- Office of the Revenue Commissioners – 5.32%
- National Treasury Management Agency - 4.28%*
*This figure includes staff of the National Asset Management Agency, Home Building Finance Ireland and the Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland. Staff are seconded to these bodies under an administrative agreement with the National Treasury Management Agency.
Four bodies under the aegis of my Department do not directly employ staff, namely the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, the Credit Union Advisory Committee, the Credit Union Restructuring Board and the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal.
A further five bodies have indicated that none of their employees have declared a disability:
- Credit Review Office
- Irish Bank Resolution Corporation
- Irish Fiscal Advisory Council
- Social Finance Foundation
- Tax Appeals Commission.
The Central Bank does not currently categorise the type of staff disability and therefore does not have specific data on the number of employees with intellectual disabilities. Staff of the Investor Compensation Company Limited are seconded from the Central Bank.
Plans received from the bodies under the aegis of my Department to increase the number of staff employed with disabilities, to promote and support the employment of persons with disabilities and increase workplace opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities are outlined in the following table.
|
Body
|
Plans
|
|
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General
|
Similar to other Departments / the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General follows civil service recruitment routes and as such has limited possibilities in encouraging people with disabilities.
The office plans to carry out a disabilities survey among employees in due course (to ensure that people that may like to update their disability status are given additional encouragement to do so).
|
|
Central Bank State Board (CB)
|
The Central Bank continues to take action to increase workplace opportunities for persons with disabilities including:
- Proactively attracting persons with disabilities to work with us. Examples of actions include participation in targeted programmes such as the Willing and Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme and a work placement programme with the National Council for the Blind.
- Physical environment: The Central Bank embedded universal design principles into our headquarters on North Wall Quay.
- Reasonable Accommodations: The Central Bank provides a variety of supports for staff who join us with, or acquire, a disability
- Awareness: Including a dedicated Access Officer and disability awareness training programmes to assist frontline staff. We also have an employee led network called the BankAbility Network which aims to ensure that there is a strong and supportive network in place for colleagues impacted by disability and to raise awareness among all staff.
|
|
Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC)
|
No direct employees, consists of a 6 member committee set up to advise the Minister
|
|
Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo)
|
Ceased operations on the 31 July 2017 and is awaiting formal dissolution.
|
|
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO)
|
The FSPO’s Strategic Plan 2018 - 2021, includes the following commitment:
“Throughout the period of this strategic plan, we will seek to exceed the target that at least 6% of our staff should represent persons with disabilities in line with the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for Persons with Disabilities”
|
|
Investor Compensation Company Limited (ICCL)
|
Staff from the ICCL are on assignment from the Central Bank of Ireland
|
|
Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC)
|
The IBRC is in wind-down and therefore has no plans to hire any further staff.
|
|
Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal (IFSAT)
|
IFSAT does not have any employees.
|
|
National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland (SBCI) and Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI)
|
1) Partnering with the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID). In 2018, they placed a Graduate through TCPID for an internship and they look forward to welcoming another Graduate this year.
2) In conjunction with Down Syndrome Ireland the NTMA offered one person a position to work in their IT Department during 2018.
3) The NTMA have also engaged with Specialisterne and AHEAD and filled three positions in 2018 with candidates from these organisations.
4) Finally, the NTMA has also set up as Disability Awareness Team (DAT) in 2016 and the DAT is actively creating greater awareness of the different types of disabilities and a number of talks and training sessions have been delivered on how best to support employees with different abilities.”
|
|
Office of the Revenue Commissioners
|
Revenue has succeeded in reaching the public service employment target of people with disabilities.
|
|
Tax Appeals Commission (TAC)
|
The Tax Appeals Commission is a relatively new agency with 18 employees. The Tax Appeals Commission is committed to supporting and promoting the employment of people with disabilities and will continue to work towards reaching the 3% requirement.
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