BY ROBBIE SMYTH

Disabilities protest

A job for everyone?

A 27-year-old missed target, serious shortfalls in education provision and labour force participation rates that effectively mean a life time of unemployment; this is the situation facing the majority of disabled workers in Ireland.

While the Special Olympics organisation in Ireland aims to create "a place for everyone" within their activities and operations, it seems that in wider Irish society the notion of 'a job for everyone' doesn't apply when it comes to planning employment and training strategies for disabled workers.

The training shortfalls and devastatingly high unemployment rate were just some of the findings in a report from the 26-County Disability Authority launched last week. Sinn Féin's Arthur Morgan has called on Enterprise, Trade and Employment minister Mary Harney to move on the report with "action and resources".

Angela Kerins, chairperson of the National Disability Authority, said at the report's launch that the "potential contribution of people with disabilities to the economic and social development in Ireland has yet to be recognised".

Highlighting some of the problems faced by disabled workers, Kerins said: "People with disabilities still face restricted options in mainstreaming training programmes due to inadequate supports and resources and too often find themselves limited to segregated programmes instead of using services provided by public bodies for everyone."

The Disability Authority Report, titled Towards Best Practice in the Provision of Further Education, Employment and Training Services, is a substantial piece of work, offering not just new policy proposals but also comparing the employment and training situation in Ireland with other industrialised states.

One of the more staggering statistics in the report is the low level of labour force participation among disabled workers. 60% of disabled adults in the 16 to 64 age group do not work. In the total population, this non-participation rate falls to 35%.

There are many factors behind this low participation rate but one glaring one is the failure to reach policy targets. In 1977, a 3% employment target was set for hiring disabled workers into civil and public service jobs. That target has never been met.

Then there is the problem of government policy u-turns, such as the dismantling of projects and cuts being imposed on Community Employment schemes. In 2002, 4,115 people with disabilities participated in CE schemes. This was nearly 16% of the total scheme numbers and is the second largest training avenue accessed by disabled people. However, the report also found that less than 10% of CE participants progress to the open labour market.

Another target being missed is that of wage subsidies for employers to recruit disabled workers. The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness set a target of 1,000 places, yet only 291 people currently avail of this scheme.

Other states seem able to achieve much higher labour market participation rates. Denmark, which has a total population roughly equivalent to the island of Ireland, has almost 10,000 people working through its wage support schemes.

The Disability Authority report recommends that more flexible programmes, like those used in Denmark, be considered for the Irish context.

Another concern in the report is the operation of the FÁS Supported Employment Programme. Disability organisations are concerned that the FÁS scheme is targeted at people needing low levels of support rather than targeting disabled workers with support needs who will find it most difficult to secure employment.

The report found that only 1% of FÁS trainees are disabled, which highlights one of the central recommendations from the Disability Authority. The Authority believes that the best method of achieving maximum labour market participation for people with disabilities is through adopting a "mainstreaming approach" to disability. Mainstreaming means the "delivery of services for people with disabilities by the public bodies that provide the service for everybody else".

Access issues were also an important factor in the problems facing disabled workers. FÁS, for example, had no standardised procedure for gathering sensitive information from applicants and a quarter of FÁS Employment Services Offices are not accessible by people with a physical disability. Accessing information on further education, etc, was also a huge problem for disabled people.

Sinn Féin Employment spokesperson Arthur Morgan welcomed the Disability Authority Report but told An Phoblacht that it points up a huge amount of work still to be done to create equality of opportunity for disabled workers.

Morgan said: "Good intentions are meaningless if they are not backed up with resources and inclusive policy proposals. This report highlights many deficiencies in how to increase disabled workers' labour force participation. It also makes many positive proposals on resolving these problems. Minister Harney needs to make them a priority, and once again the importance of CE schemes has been highlighted."

Government failure on disabled rights "a disgrace"

Sinn Féin is to boycott a coalition government reception for the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD). Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Human Rights Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD has described the Taoiseach's "self-congratulatory" reception as "disgraceful hypocrisy" because of their "abject failure to advance in any way" the rights of disabled people in Ireland during the dedicated year.

Speaking in advance of his attendance at the European Year of People with Disabilities Summit meeting in Dublin, Ó Snodaigh said: "This Government could have and should have used the occasion, and the monies allocated for PR, to take action to significantly enhance rights protections for Irish people with disabilities - that is, to introduce rights-based domestic legislation, to propose a new EU Equality Directive on Disability, and to ultimately use the international leadership opportunity of the Irish EU Presidency to inject a fresh impetus to the conclusion of a much-needed International Convention on the Rights of Disabled People."

Ó Snodaigh slammed the government for not publishing the promised rights-based Disabilities Bill. He said: "In this context I could not collude in a self-congratulatory exercise such as the Taoiseach's reception. Any 'celebration of achievements' at this time is misplaced. There is too much basic work yet to be done. The Government fumbled the ball on the EYPD and no PR exercise can hide this fact."

Louth council includes disabled rights in anti-racism charter

Sinn Féin Councillor Tomás Sharkey has welcomed the adoption by Louth County Council of Sinn Féin's anti-racism charter which, with an amendment proposed to include disabled rights, was passed this week by Louth County Council.

Sharkey told An Phoblacht that adopting the charter means the council acting to ensure that its day-to-day activities are conducted in such as way that they do not incite hatred or prejudice on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religious or political belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or membership of the Traveller community.

"We are drawing a line and saying that racism cannot and will not be accepted in Louth," said Sharkey.