HEALTH MATTERS:A recent conference heard leading managing directors and politicians call upon employers to explore the untapped potential of people with disabilities.
An employers' guide to hiring people with disabilities was also introduced.
A spokeswoman for the Aisling Project, which organised the conference and guide entitled Ready, Willing and Able, told The Irish Times: "The idea is that if an employer is thinking about hiring someone with a disability, this guide will explore and explain the process, and show the contact organisations to make the next steps possible."
Aisling is the Irish word for dream and vision. The mission of the Aisling Project is to make a difference by showing that people with alternative ability have a significant role to play in society and in the workforce. Patrons of the Aisling Project include Christy Moore and Andrea Corr.
Aisling Project founder Ms Caroline Casey challenged Irish employers to improve their attitudes and commitment to disabled members of the workforce. She said people with disabilities showed their capacity to "overcome obstacles, use initiative and strive to succeed", which is "exactly what employers want to see, precisely because these are business benefits".
The conference highlighted the positive achievements of organisations that employ people with disabilities, while the guide seeks to overcome employers' indifference, and dispel the myths and fears surrounding disability.
Speaking at the conference, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, said that, while 400,000 jobs had been created in the Republic since 1997, "too many people with disabilities still find it hard to get jobs. They are a major untapped resource of well-trained people available for work."
People with disabilities "are open to employment - we must all work to ensure that employment is open to them. I am determined to continue and to increase that work until we have a society that truly values the diversity of ability among us all," she said.
Esat founder and entrepreneur Mr Denis O'Brien said: "As leaders in Irish business, we have a responsibility to rise to this challenge of encouraging our senior managers and HR managers to seek out more alternative abilities. Time and again, the benefits outweigh any obstacles we can invariably overcome. If you lead an organisation, you are making a statement of your values - the organisation you lead is a reflection of your beliefs and the person you are - and we need to reflect adequately the communities we live in."
The guide defines disability as a restriction in performing one or more major life activities due to an impairment. These include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, performing manual tasks or socialising. Disability includes visual impairment, hearing deficits, physical disability, dyslexia and mental health difficulties.
Every year more than 2,000 people with disabilities enhance their workplace skills through FÁS training, while more than 800 people with disabilities study at third-level colleges.
Despite being a highly trained and educated source of labour, "only a small percentage of people with disabilities are currently employed", says the guide.
The guide insists that people with disabilities are resilient and have been shown in international studies to be productive, reliable and valuable employees. While simple adjustments and adaptations may be needed to comply with health and safety obligations, such adaptations generally serve to benefit all employees and clients.
People with disabilities have been shown to have excellent attendance records with both Irish and international employers, and it should not be assumed that such employees have poor health.
There are often no extra costs in recruiting or employing them since not all workers with disabilities need adaptations to equipment. Where adaptations are required, FÁS offers assistance to reduce such costs. FÁS also provides funding to retrain employees who acquire a disability during their career.
Extra insurance premiums do not normally arise by employing people with disabilities, while there is no need to treat people with disabilities any differently than other members of the workforce, says the guide.
FÁS provides funding for disability awareness training to address any myths or misconceptions operating in the workforce.
Benefits of employing people with disabilities include increased productivity, with international studies showing that such employees' attendance, punctuality and productivity equals or is better than people without disabilities.
Customers tend to respond favourably to companies and organisations positive to disability, increasing their loyalty and enhancing the companies' public image. Staff morale also increases.
The guide explains State assistance available to employers. It gives detailed contacts information, for instance on where to source people with disabilities for employment and how to get information on technical aids. Web address: www.theaislingproject.org and www.abilityconference.ie
