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14 2005

Disability Act 2005

PART 5

Public Service Employment

Interpretation (Part 5).

46. —(1) In this Part—

“Authority” means National Disability Authority;

“civil servant” has the same meaning as it has in the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 ;

“relevant Minister” means relevant Minister of the Government;

“relevant Minister of the Government”—

(a) in relation to a Department of State or any other public body, the members of whose staff are civil servants, means the Minister for Finance,

(b) in relation to any other public body, being a public body that is accountable to a Minister of the Government, means that Minister of the Government.

(2) The following public bodies are deemed to be accountable to the following Ministers of the Government for the purposes of this Part—

(a) a local authority, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,

(b) the Executive, the Minister for Health and Children,

(c) a person, body, organisation or group established by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts 1963 to 2003), the Minister of the Government—

(i) whose function it is to appoint the person, body, organisation or group or, if appropriate, one or more of its members, and

(ii) who finances the person, body, organisation or group, wholly or partly, whether directly or indirectly, by means of moneys provided by him or her, or loans made or guaranteed by him or her, or shares held by him or her in, the person, body, organisation or group,

and

(d) a person, body, organisation or group established under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2003 in pursuance of powers conferred by or under another enactment, and financed wholly or partly, whether directly or indirectly, by means of moneys provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government, or shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government, that Minister of the Government.

(3) This Part does not apply to the Defence Forces, the Garda Síochána or prison officers of a prison.

Employment in public service.

47. —(1) A public body shall—

(a) in so far as practicable take all reasonable measures to promote and support the employment by it of persons with disabilities,

(b) have regard to any relevant codes of practice approved under section 50 and section 10A of the Act of 1999 by the relevant Minister.

(2) A public body shall ensure, unless there is good reason to the contrary for not doing so, that it reaches any compliance targets prescribed under subsection (3).

(3) (a) The Minister for Finance may, with the consent of the Minister, by order specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in public bodies the members of whose staff are civil servants and the public bodies accountable to him or her.

(b) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by order specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the public bodies accountable to him or her.

(c) Any other Minister of the Government may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, by order specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the public bodies accountable to him or her.

(d) In such an order as aforesaid the relevant Minister of the Government concerned may specify numbers or percentages of persons with disabilities to be recruited by the public body concerned, and if it appears to him or her to be necessary, he or she may specify—

(i) the numbers or percentages of persons with disabilities to be employed by the public body concerned,

(ii) the holding of recruitment competitions confined to persons with disabilities in relation to specific posts or employments,

(iii) measures for the filling, by suitably qualified persons with disabilities, of specified categories of vacancies for such period as he or she considers appropriate,

(iv) that the public body concerned shall offer a specified number of work experience placements of specified duration to persons with disabilities each year.

(4) If no compliance targets stand prescribed under subsection (3) in relation to a public body, the body shall ensure, unless there is good reason to the contrary for not doing so, that not less than 3 per cent of the persons employed by it are persons with disabilities.

(5) An order under subsection (3) may relate to all public bodies, or specified public bodies, that are accountable to the relevant Minister who makes the order.

(6) A Minister of the Government shall, when making an order under subsection (3), have regard to any measures that have been specified by the Authority under section 49 (2) in relation to any public body to which the order applies.

(7) An order under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister of the Government making the order to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order.

(8) An order under this section (including this subsection) may be revoked or amended by the Minister of the Government who made it subject to the like consent or consents as that or those to which such making is subject.

Monitoring of compliance with this Part.

48. —(1) A Minister of the Government shall establish a committee (which shall be known as “a monitoring committee”) in respect of the public bodies in relation to which he or she is the relevant Minister.

(2) Subject to subsection (7) a public body shall, not later than 31 March in each year, draw up a report in writing in relation to its compliance with this Part during the preceding year and submit it to the relevant monitoring committee.

(3) A monitoring committee shall monitor and, in consultation with the Authority, encourage compliance with this Part by the public bodies in respect of which it was established.

(4) A monitoring committee shall consist of not less than 5 members who shall be appointed by the relevant Minister concerned and of whom—

(a) at least one is an officer of the relevant Minister,

(b) one is representative of persons with disabilities and who may be a member of the staff of a public body,

(c) one is representative of public bodies as employers or of employers generally, and

(d) one is representative of employees of the public bodies concerned or of employees generally.

(5) A monitoring committee shall—

(a) appoint its chairperson,

(b) meet not less than 3 times each year,

(c) subject to paragraph (b), determine its own procedures, and

(d) subject to subsection (7), not later than 30 June in each year, draw up a report in writing in relation to compliance with section 47 during the preceding year by the public body or bodies concerned and submit it to the Authority and the relevant Minister by whom it was established.

(6) (a) A report referred to in subsection (2) or (5)(d) shall be in such form, and contain such particulars, as the Authority in consultation with the relevant Minister, may direct.

(b) In performing its functions under this section, the Authority shall have regard to section 15(2) of the Act of 1999.

(7) The first reports under subsections (2) and (5)(d) shall be in respect of the period from the commencement of this section to the end of the year following such commencement and the reference in subsection (2) to 31 March in each year and in subsection (5)(d) to 30 June in each year shall, in relation to those reports, be construed as references, respectively, to 31 March in the year following such commencement and 30 June in that year.

Action to achieve compliance with this Part.

49. —(1) A public body shall, at the request of the relevant Minister, or of the Authority, following consultation with that Minister, furnish not more than 3 months after the making of the request, that Minister or the Authority, as the case may be, with any information that that Minister or the Authority requires in order to determine whether the body is complying with this Part.

(2) Where, either—

(a) at the end of any 2 successive years a public body is, in the opinion of the Authority, not complying with this Part, or

(b) (i) a public body has not complied with subsection (1), and

 (ii) the relevant Minister or the Authority is of opinion that the body may not be complying with another provision of this Part,

the Authority may, with the consent of the relevant Minister, request the body to take such measures as it may specify to ensure such compliance and the public body shall comply with such request.

(3) The measures referred to in subsection (2) may include—

(a) the provision by or on behalf of the body concerned of the training or education of persons with disabilities who are employed by the body, either in or outside it for the purpose of qualifying them for specific posts or employments in the body,

(b) the amendment of the requirements for particular posts or employments in the body to enable persons with disabilities to compete for posts or employments in the body in relation to which the work is similar or of equal value,

(c) measures for the filling, by suitably qualified such persons, of employment vacancies or specified such vacancies or of categories of such vacancies in the body, either for a specified period or until the provisions of this Part have been complied with,

(d) the holding of competitions for recruitment to specific posts or employments which are confined to such persons,

(e) the making of reasonable alterations to the work premises or environment of the body concerned and the provision of suitable technical or organisational supports so as to reasonably facilitate the employment by the body of persons with disabilities and to support existing employees of the body who are persons with disabilities in the performance of their duties,

(f) the provision of information to employees of the body to increase their awareness and understanding of the contribution that persons with disabilities may make to the work of the body.

Codes of practice in respect of employment in public service.

50. —(1) (a) A Minister of the Government may approve codes of practice prepared by the Authority or such persons as may be requested by him or her for the purpose of giving guidance to public bodies in relation to which he or she is the relevant Minister in respect of the implementation of this Part or such provisions of this Part as that Minister of the Government may specify.

(b) In performing functions under paragraph (a), the Minister of the Government concerned shall consult with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee established by him or her under section 48 .

(c) A Minister of the Government may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order revoke or amend an approved code of practice approved by him or her under paragraph (a).

(2) The Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) in section 8(2)(f), by the substitution of “sections 10 and 10A” for “section 10”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 10:

“Codes of practice in relation to Part 5 of Disability Act 2005.

10A.—(1) The Authority shall, if requested by a Minister of the Government, prepare and submit to that Minister draft codes of practice giving guidance to public bodies in relation to which he or she is the relevant Minister in respect of the implementation of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 or specified provisions thereof.

(2) In preparing a draft code of practice under subsection (1), the Authority shall consult the relevant Minister concerned and the relevant monitoring committee.

(3) Following the submission of a draft code of practice under subsection (1) to the relevant Minister, he or she may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order declare that—

(a) he or she does not approve of the draft code of practice,

(b) he or she approves of the draft code of practice and that, accordingly, it is an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, or

(c) he or she approves of the draft code as amended by him or her and that, accordingly, it is an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.

(4) The relevant Minister concerned may, after consultation with the Authority and the relevant monitoring committee, by order amend or revoke an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.

(5) In this section—

‘relevant Minister’ has the same meaning as it has in Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005;

‘monitoring committee’ means a committee established under section 48 of the Disability Act 2005.”,

and

(c) in section 15, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (c), the Authority shall include in a report under subsection (1), particulars of the information furnished to it in reports under subsection (5)(d) of section 48 of the Disability Act 2005 and send a copy of the report to the Minister and any other Minister of the Government to whom, having regard to his or her functions, the Authority considers it should be sent.

 (b) Subject to paragraph (d), a report under subsection (1) shall include—

(i) an assessment of the extent to which each Department of State or other public body complied with section 47 of the Disability Act 2005 during the year to which the report relates and the extent to which any factors outside its control may have contributed to any non-compliance with that section, and

(ii) if appropriate, a recommendation that, a Department of State or other public body should take specified measures to facilitate or achieve compliance with that section.

 (c) The Authority may, where it considers appropriate, prepare, and submit to the Minister not later than 30 November in each year, a report (other than a report under subsection (1)) setting out the particulars referred to in paragraph (a), and where it so does it shall be deemed to have complied with that paragraph.

 (d) The Authority may, where it considers appropriate, prepare, and submit to the Minister not later than 30 November in each year, a report (other than a report under subsection (1)) containing—

(i) an assessment, and

(ii) if appropriate, a recommendation,

referred to in paragraph (b), and where it so does it shall be deemed to have complied with that paragraph.”.

Positive action measures.

51. —Nothing in this Part precludes the taking of measures referred to in section 33 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 (as amended by section 22 of the Equality Act 2004 ).