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Minister of State Kathleen Lynch with IASE chairperson Teresa Mallon at the launch

Minister of State Kathleen Lynch today launched the strategy, Opportunities for Renewal and Equality, which aims to grow employment rates for people with disabilities through a model called ‘supported employment’.

The plan sets out six priorities for 2014 to 2016 to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Ireland.

The plan stresses the importance of promoting a model called ‘supported employment’ which currently assists some 5,000 Irish people with disabilities at work, but which could support many more into jobs, according to the IASE.

Minister of State Lynch welcomed the plan. She described it as a ‘challenging but achievable’ three-year road map.

People with disabilities are not looking for special treatment,” she said. “They are looking for a fair chance to get or keep a job, prove their abilities and find ways of overcoming the barriers which workplaces, or co-workers, often unwittingly present.

Many people with disabilities who do succeed in getting jobs often struggle in the early stages due primarily to a lack of appropriate support.

We will only know real change is happening when we see employers and people with disabilities embracing the concept that work facilitates social inclusion and subsequently, informing themselves about and availing of the employment supports and incentives that exist.

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