26th February 2026
Today Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon TD, chaired the first meeting of the Forum on the Employment of Disabled People.
The Forum has been established as part of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment’s commitments under the Employment Pillar of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. DETE co-leads on the Employment Pillar along with the Department of Social Protection.
As an overarching objective, the Forum will seek to raise awareness of the potential of disabled employees and act as an information exchange and a platform to showcase best practices by businesses to advance the employment of people with disabilities. It will also provide a vehicle for sharing relevant information on Government policies and programmes which can be further disseminated by members to their individual stakeholders.
At the Forum, Minister Dillon assured participants,
“We are aware that the employment of disabled people is an area that we need to improve in Ireland and we are fully engaged on delivering on the actions associated with the Strategy. I believe the abilities of people with a disability should be to the forefront in our discussions.
‘Our intention is that the Forum will provide a platform for discussion and engagement on the employment of disabled people. That discussion will include employers, disabled people and other representative bodies, as well as relevant Government departments. It will serve as a means of discussing how best to support employers to employ disabled people, including addressing employer concerns.”
Back to Department News