DFI NETWORK OF INTEREST MEETING DFI Network of Interest on Income and Employment & European Association of Service Providers for People with Disabilities (EASPD) Developing an Inclusive Labour Market in Ireland 9.45am – 1pm 10 April 2016

AGENDA 10amWelcome: John Dolan 10.15amEASPD consultation on employment of people with disabilities as part of European Report and STAR recommendations Thomas Bignal, EASPD STAR recommendations 10.30amPathways to Work: Brid O’Brien, Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed 10.45am The Irish Policy landscape for employment of People with disabilities: Where are we now? Joan O’Donnell, DFI 11.00amCoffee amDiscussion 12.45Conclusions and next steps

THE IRISH POLICY LANDSCAPE FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: WHERE ARE WE NOW? Joan O’Donnell, DFI

National Action Plan for Jobs Pathways to Work Comprehensive Employment Strategy

STATISTICS  People with disabilities are much more likely to be unemployed. The unemployment rate amongst disabled people was 30.8 per cent, compared with 19 per cent for the overall population. p. 15  There were 162,681 persons with a disability in the labour force giving a labour force participation rate of 30 per cent, compared with 61.9 per cent for the overall population. p.14  Even at the height of the boom when long-term unemployment was at an all-time low, the percentage of people with disabilities in employment was also less than half that than for those without a disability. A Social Portrait of People with Disabilities in Ireland  Ireland also has the third highest number of young people on Disability Benefit between the ages of 20 and % compared to an OECD average of 1.5%. OECD (2010) Sickness, disability and work: breaking the barriers. Available at

STATISTICS  Households headed by people with a disability are twice as likely to experience unemployment as other households and they had the lowest average annual disposable income in This was €23,820 compared to €53,308 for those at work. This represents a 25% drop since 2009 compared to an 8.7% drop for those at work.  41% have left work because of their disability, demonstrating the very real way in which disability is itself socially constructed, both due to the lack of accessible work environments, transport infrastructure, as well as the absence of appropriate supports. ESRI 2015 Educational and Employment Experiences of People with a Disability in Ireland  Of those not in employment 47% would be interested in work if the circumstances were right. ESRI 2015 Educational and Employment Experiences of People with a Disability in Ireland p. 27  The medical card provides a vital lifeline for many people with disabilities. The ESRI report released in June 2015 concedes that for those households with a higher than average use of a medical card, often due to chronic illness, the impact of losing the medical card is greater than for other families. ESRI 2015 Educational and Employment Experiences of People with a Disability in Ireland

COMPREHENSIVE EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY

Vision: That people with disabilities can get a job and enjoy a rewarding career Values: That people are enabled to get jobs, earn a living, make a contribution That people are supported to maximise their potential Focus on capacity rather than incapacity Covers all people with disabilities It pays to have a job People get the supports they need Systems are joined up and actions are built into mainstream national policies.

STEMMING THE FLOW INTO JOBLESSNESS The most effective way to address joblessness is to prevent it happening in the first place. Focus on Young people leaving school People who acquire disability during adulthood

SIX STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Build skills capacity and independence Provide Bridges and supports into Work Make Work Pay Promote job retention and re-entry into work Promote co-ordinated and seamless supports Engage employers

EASPD STAR RECOMMENDATIONS S takeholder cooperation T argeted Actions A vailability of Support R esearch

S TAKEHOLDER COOPERATION Set up Stakeholder Cooperation Reporting and Accountability mechanisms for employment policy Making sure that we have integrated social services Making sure that services are local Support for mutual responsibilities approach, including commitments from all stakeholders Irish Context Monitoring of the CES and links to other policies? Mainstream policies as well as New Directions? How integrated are services on the ground? How should they be connected? Are services provided as close to where a person lives as possible? Accessible transport Links? What are the expectations of engagement between jobseeker and services? Job seeker and employer? etc

T ARGETED ACTIONS Combining Focused and mainstream approaches Individualised supports Decent Pay and working conditions Gradual withdrawal of benefits on entering work Public sector Employment Irish Context To what extent can Irish services meet the individual support needs of jobseekers or Is it one size fits all? Work Must pay/ ready Reckoner What needs to change for this to be effective? Is the 6% target enough? How effective is it in increasing the numbers of people in work?

A VAILABILITY OF SUPPORT Support for Employers and Employees Recruitment and Employment Job retention Job carving Irish Context Are the guidelines for job retention sufficient? Why is Workplace Adaptation take up so low? What is reasonable accommodation? When is reasonable unreasonable? Or unreasonable reasonable? What model of supported employment is appropriate and will work?

R ESEARCH Combining Focused and mainstream approaches Support for research aimed at unemployed people as well as those at risk More detailed statistics Inclusion of researchers in stakeholder engagement Irish Context What do we need to know about those we serve who are job hunting or in need of training? Rehabilitation training? Numbers still in Sheltered workshops? What more statistics do we need? What do we need to know about the changing nature of work? Digitalisaton of the workplace?