Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
372. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline what training the human resources disability officer in his Department has undertaken and is scheduled to undertake in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32634/23]
View answerThe Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) for my Department sits within the Human Resources Unit. Their role is as follows:
• To act as the point of contact for staff with disabilities, their managers and HR
• To assist and support staff with disabilities and their line managers by the provision of necessary information, appropriate contacts, guidance, suggestions and advice
• To assist in the implementation of best HR practice in line with equality legislation
• To facilitate increased awareness of disability throughout the organisation.
The DLO can support both managers and employees to ensure that reasonable accommodations, where possible, are made available when required.
There is no formal training available tailored to the role of the DLO in the Civil Service. The DLO attends regular meetings of the interdepartmental DLO Network, which provides support and advice to those in the role e.g. Disability Awareness & Reasonable Accommodations training and training from the National Disability Authority (NDA) on requirements under Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005. Additionally, the DLO attended Equality Awareness Training within the Department in 2021 as well as Autism Awareness Training. To date in 2023 the DLO has attended webinars by Employers for Change on Strategies on Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace, See Change on Mental Health Judgement in the Workplace and Legal Island's Beyond Ticking the Box: Creating Real Impact with inclusion at work.
In the performance of their role the DLO seeks advice as required, including from HR, ICT, the Chief Medical Officer, the NDA and other disabilities advocacy groups.
