A SURPRISING level of support for making employers fill a quota of jobs with disabled people has emerged in a survey of private firms.
The survey was conducted by IBEC in association with the National Rehabilitation Board and the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability.
While 46 per cent of employers were opposed to a quota system, 44 per cent were either neutral or in favour.
Much of the support came from smaller firms which believed company size should be taken into account and which may not therefore have seen themselves as having to meet the quota.
But even among companies with 250 employees or more, 25 per cent were in favour (some with reservations) and 16 per cent neutral; 47 per cent were against.
Among multinationals, 25 per cent were in favour and 14 per cent neutral with 51 against.
The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities recommended in November that a compulsory quota be introduced if private sector employers fail to fill 3 per cent of jobs with disabled people in three years.
Such a quota has been in place in the public service since the 1970s. It has been achieved in the Civil Service only in recent years but not in the wider public service.
In all, 476 employers were sampled in the IBEC survey and 150 completed the survey forms.
One per cent of employees are people with disabilities, the survey suggests.
"The results show that seven employers out of 10 are willing to offer work experience to people with disabilities," said Dr Arthur O'Reilly, chief executive of the NRB. "Many people assume that employers have a negative attitude to people with disabilities, so this finding is very positive."