Speech by Minister Michael Ahern TD Minister for Trade and Commerce. At the “Employability through E-Technology” Conference Marking International Day of People with a Disability

The Munster Arms Hotel, Bandon, Co. Cork,1^st December 2006

It gives me great pleasure to be invited here to Bandon to address this Conference to mark International Day of Disabled Persons.

December 3^rd is International Disability Day, as designated by the United Nations, and the theme for this year is accessibility to information technologies. This will be referred to as E-Accessibility Day.

As all of you are aware, the rapid development of modern information and communication technologies is having far reaching effects on all aspects of modern life, including government.

By making intelligent use of information technology, particularly the Internet, the government has sought to exploit the huge potential of these technologies as a means of achieving better government.

Irish government policy, the EU Lisbon Strategy and the report of the Enterprise Strategy Group Report all lead to the conclusion that Ireland’s future must be in a high skills knowledge-based economy. This can only be achieved through a high level of education and skills, ongoing lifelong learning and upskilling of people, whether in employment or seeking entry to the labour force.

A key factor in the unprecedented expansion of the Irish economy has been the world class reputation we have gained across a range of technologies. We must adapt and develop our strengths if we are to build on our success in tomorrow’s knowledge economy. We cannot hope to succeed in the future if we become complacent about the past. The report of the Enterprise Strategy group reiterates that we must adapt and develop our strengths if we are to prosper as a knowledge economy.

While we can be proud of what we have achieved I believe resting on our oars is a sure recipe for failure.

E-technology has impacted on all aspects of our lives and in particular has opened up employment opportunities that would have been undreamt of even a decade or so ago. You only need to look to the recent expansion of companies such as Google and Microsoft to see that information technology is a growing sector. Subsequently, understanding and exploiting technology has never been more significant. It is important that all our citizens be given the opportunity to partake in the opportunities that technological advances now offer.

For disabled people, technology has changed many aspects of daily living from the impossible to the possible. Disabled people, for whom the traditional classroom-based learning may have presented difficulties, can by using E-learning, as a development of distance learning, participate in training at a time, place and at a pace suitable to their needs. In this context I am proud to point out that FÁS e-College has been to the forefront in pioneering e-learning across a whole range of training areas.

I am also glad to see that FAS is now exploring how tutor support might support learners. I suspect that this may be particularly beneficial to disabled learners. E-technology has also been proven to extend the learning horizons of other groups, such as those with low literacy levels and dyslexia.

This commitment of FAS to explore web-enabled learning for disabled people, has been strengthened in my Department’s Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005. The FÁS’ ‘Vocational Training Strategy for Disabled People’, as laid out in the Sectoral Plan, commits to the development of innovative and flexible means of training design and delivery for disabled people in mainline provision; and web-based technologies will strengthen access to mainstream provision.

Whole new employment vistas have now opened up for job seekers, some of whom might traditionally have had difficulty in entering the open labour market, such as disabled people. Central to this process has been the development of assistive technology.

There are thousand of alternatives and adaptations within new technologies that facilitate independence in the workplace for disabled people. In addition, the technology sector has traditionally been to the forefront in promoting flexible and innovative working arrangements to accommodate people’s needs in managing our work-life balance. These arrangements are particularly accommodating for disabled people who wish to enter into and/or remain within employment.

Furthermore, because of assistive technology and changing attitudes, disabled people are now achieving educational qualifications that would not have been possible in previous generations. The numbers of disabled people attending third level institutions is increasing year-to-year, having been assisted by specialists within the college support services. It is hoped that this well educated cohort of students, on graduation, will obtain employment equal to their qualifications. Assistive technology can help ensure this happens.

If we are to make significant inroads into the unacceptable levels of unemployment among our disabled citizens much work needs to be done. In tandem with the business community, and by utilising the supports that exist to assist a disabled person enter into employment, I feel this can be done. Grasping the opportunities available in the Information Technology sector is a step in the right direction. Likewise, employers in the technology sector should make every effort to tap into this talent pool when seeking to complement their staff. Evidence shows that disabled people operate at least on a par with other employees, and give every satisfaction to a whole range of employers.

E-technology may, however, represent a barrier to some people with disabilities, maybe older users in particular. Therefore, it is incumbent on the designers and manufacturers of web based programmes to ensure that all products are usable by all people, thus doing away with the need for adaptation or specialised design. The principles of universal design not only benefit disabled people but allow for a flexibility of usage in a range of situations other than the typical desktop workstation. Universal design allows the user to adapt the media to their personal preferences.

It is also worth noting that the Disability Act 2005 provided that, all public bodies, subject to certain considerations, must meet a number of legal requirements. These include:

• Ensuring that the provision of access to their services by people with and without disabilities is integrated;
• Ensuring that services and goods they are supplied with are accessible to people with disabilities;
• Ensuring that contents of the communications with people with disabilities are provided in an accessible format;
• Establishing procedures in relation to the making and investigation of complaints from people with disabilities; and
• Making their buildings accessible to people with disabilities.

These accessibility provisions are now supported by a new Code – the ‘Code of Practice on Accessibility of Public Services and Information provided by Public Bodies’ which was developed by the National Disability Authority, and launched by the Tánaiste in July of this year. This Code of Practice applies to all public bodies and provides guidance on meeting their obligations under the following provisions of the Act.

Implementation of this Code by the public bodies will provide a considerable impetus to the greater participation of people with disabilities in Irish society.

People with Disabilities in Ireland deserve our thanks for taking on board the pioneering task of promoting this employment option for disabled people and for doing so nationwide. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of FAS in part funding this initiative and I wish the conference every success.