Address by Mr Michael Ahern TD, Minister for Trade and Commerce

At the Make the Difference through Employment Conference,

In Jury's Hotel, Western Road, Cork,

On Tuesday 25th November, 2003 at 9am

Good Morning to you all,

I am delighted, in this the year of the Special Olympics, and the European Year of People with Disabilities, to be here this morning delivering the opening address at this Regional Disability Conference on behalf of my colleague Minister Frank Fahey.

Minister Fahey has a meeting with European Parliamentarians in advance of Ireland taking over the Presidency of the EU and is, therefore, unable to be with us this morning.

He has asked me to convey his apologies and his personal best wishes for a very successful conference here in Cork.

This series of conferences are designed to communicate to employers the message that people with disabilities are a legitimate source of labour. In my opinion, there is no better way to get this message across than by example, and today you will hear both employers and employees talk about their positive experiences of disability in the workplace. I understand that the Sligo conference, which was the first in the series, was very successful and generated quite a lot of interest from employers in the area.

Today's conference will highlight best practice in employing people with disabilities business, and help create targeted awareness of disability activity at a local level.

Employment is very important for everyone. It provides self-esteem and economic independence. It gives people a sense of value to know that they are contributing to the progress of the company for which they work and to the economy as a whole.

According to recent figures from the Central Statistics Office, just over 40% of people who have a disability, are in employment, compared with an overall rate of 65% for the population as whole. The majority of people in employment were in the 25-34 year age category.

I am keenly aware of the difficulties which people with disabilities encounter in trying to access employment. We need to de-stigmatise the concept of disability, and particularly mental health difficulties. I am certain that raising public awareness of the skills and abilities of people with a disability will be a key to success in this area.

Many companies are actively `positive to disability' and understand the need to be adaptable in order to tap into the ability and creativity of its entire workforce.

They have introduced disability friendly recruitment and work practices including disability awareness training, creating accessible environments, accommodations and a willingness to be flexible.

People with disabilities have many positive qualities to bring to the workplace. National and international experience would indicate that they are generally hard working, reliable and loyal employees. The focus of an employer's attention should be on a person's ability, not their disability. In simple terms the message to employers is:

• Select the best qualified applicant regardless of disability

This morning you will hear from company representatives who have achieved their successful positions as business leaders by sound management, and by providing a competitive product.

But being competitive does not mean that you cannot be inclusive, and I think the companies you will hear from today have found benefits in being inclusive. Indeed, it has been found that customers respond favourably towards organisations which are positive towards disability and reflect the diversity of the community.

FAS Employment Service Offices, which are located extensively around the country, offer a comprehensive service to employers who wish to employ a person with a disability. They can also provide contact details for other organisations such as NTDI, CRC, Workway, PWDI, Access Ability and the Aisling Foundation among others who are each a further source for recruiting prospective employees.

I am confident that this conference will go a long way towards exploding some of the myths surrounding the employment of a person with a disability.

Apart from representatives of the business sector from whom you will hear today, I know there are many others, large and small, who have shown that they are prepared to employ people with disabilities.

It is understandable that employers might have some concerns about employing a person with a disability for the first time, but research shows that those concerns are usually unfounded. For example,

• There are often no extra costs involved in recruiting, or employing people, with disabilities.

• Having a disability does not necessarily mean that a person has poor health; people with disabilities in employment generally have excellent attendance records.

Employing people with disabilities can result in:

• Reduced Staff Turnover - Disabled employees stay in the job longer, which reduces advertising, training and recruitment costs. 

• Improved Staff Attendance Records - Employers have found that disabled employees have a strong commitment to work, as well as low absentee records. 

• A Positive Corporate Image - Organisations that employ people with disabilities are better able to anticipate and respond to the needs of disabled customers. They have in their disabled employees an inbuilt source of information and advice about their potential customers on which they can draw when developing their marketing strategies.

State assistance is available, through FÁS, to private sector employers to assist with costs incurred in recruiting and employing people with disabilities.

This range of grants and schemes include:

• the Work Equipment and Adaptation Grant;
• the Job Interview Interpreter Grant;
• the Personal Reader Grant and
• the Employment Support Scheme.

Funding is also available to private sector companies interested in providing disability awareness training to staff under the Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme run by FAS.

While not all employers will require these supports, it is important to know they are available and used as required. I would commend, for the reference of all employers', a very useful guide entitled: Ready, Willing and Able produced jointly by the Aisling Foundation, FAS and IBEC, which answers, in very simple and straight forward terms, the main questions employers have about employing people with disabilities.

The guide also outlines the range of Government supports that are available, as well as providing information on sourcing people with disabilities. I understand the guide is available here at the conference and from FAS offices throughout the country.

This series of conferences, arranged locally here in Cork with the active cooperation of Workway and the Aisling Foundation, are led by a consortium of organisations working for people with disabilities brought together by my colleague Minister Frank Fahey, and supported by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Funding of the Conferences has been provided through resources associated with the European Year of People with Disabilities, by the EQUAL Community Initiative Programme which is funded through the European Social Fund, and by consortium members. I wish to acknowledge, and thank all contributors for their very generous and active support.

I would like to thank our Host, Alan Crosbie, Chairman of Thomas Crosbie Holdings and Examiner Publications, each of the various speakers and those who participated in the video case studies.

I would also like to thank Jury's Hotel for providing these excellent facilities this morning.

I wish you all a very successful conference.

ENDS/TC 74