Minister Calleary launches new workability programme in Mayo

A new programme focusing on employment outcomes for people with disabilities was launched in Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, last Friday by Minister of State Dara Calleary TD.

Erris Workability – Iorras Cumasach is available to people who are over 16 years of age and have a disability. The primary purpose of the programme is to provide people with the opportunity to gain and sustain employment, or access to education and training to improve employment prospects.

Minister Calleary commended the objective of the programme in terms of addressing the issue of people with disabilities ‘getting lost’ in the system, or ‘falling through the cracks’. 

He said: “22 percent of the population of Ireland has some element of a disability. That’s 1.1 million people. Ireland has one of the lowest employment rates for people with disabilities in the EU – 26% compared to 45% in the EU. In order to start to address this, we need to put supports in place at school level and to ensure that there are different avenues available to people when they finish school.” 

Minister Calleary continued to explain that people must be provided with real opportunities that will lead to sustainable employment or self-employment, and to encourage a culture of enterprise around people with disabilities.

“Erris Workability is one of 52 programmes across the country which will target 13,000 people with disabilities over the next five years. I am confident that the Erris Workability programme, going forward, will sustain itself, and it will make a great contribution in terms of addressing the challenges that exist within the system. It has the funding and the resources behind it and we, at the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment will work with the team, and we will continue to advocate the Programme,” he added.

Anne Finn, Social Inclusion Manager of Mayo North East, hosted the event, other speakers including CEO of Mayo North East, Justin Sammon, Board Secretary of Mayo North East, Fr Kevin Hegarty, Employer Liaison Officer with Intreo, Yvonne Kenny, Leader of the Erris Workability Programme, Rosemarie Mangan.

Additionally, members of the Erris Youth Disability Network (EYDN), Mary Deane and Eithne Dixon, spoke passionately about their experiences in relation to their families and their children’s lives, especially after they had left school.

_{At the launch of Erris Workability in Belmullet (Photo: Ryan Gallagher)}

Ms Dixon remembered, when her daughter Deirbhle turned 16 years of age, she got a letter to say that she was entitled to a Disability Benefit. 

“But it was the other lines on the letter that stuck with me. It said that Deirbhle would receive Disability Benefit until her 65th birthday, after which she will then receive the old age pension, and it specified the date that she would turn 65 years of age. That was Deirbhle’s life according to the Department, written down on a letter, done and dusted. No offer or suggestion of further education possibilities or employment opportunities,” she said.

Ms Dixon continued: “This is simply not acceptable. We need to do more - we need to improve society so that it is more inclusive of people with disabilities, and their dreams and aspirations. We need to break down barriers and change our mindsets.”

Fr Kevin Hegarty, Board Secretary of Mayo North East, spoke about the work that has been carried out all over Mayo and Erris, particularly in relation to social inclusion. 

Referring to previous successful Mayo North East programmes, he recalled occasions where people in their 40s and 80s admitted that it was the first time in their lives that they had felt listened to.

Fr Hegarty added: “This is what is at the heart of these programmes – these initiatives help people who may feel excluded from mainstream society feel that they have a very worthwhile role to play.” 

CEO of Mayo North East, Justin Sammon, emphasised the fact that everyone has a role in our society, and he urged the audience to ‘focus on people’s abilities, as opposed to their disabilities’.

Social Inclusion Manager, Anne Finn, remarked on the large crowd in attendance and said she was delighted to see so many employers and business owners in the audience, alongside representatives from as far as Castlebar and Connemara. 

She paid a special tribute to the EYDN for their advocacy and perseverance in demanding better opportunities for people with disabilities. 

Leader of this innovative programme Rosemarie Mangan said: “As someone with a disability, I have experienced the highs and lows of education and employment here in Ireland. I have been told that there are things that I couldn’t do, or wouldn’t be able to do. I have been ignored and dismissed when applying for jobs. On the other hand, I have encountered people who realised that my disability would not be an issue at all once a few adjustments were made.”

The programme leader explained that when colleagues did focus on her abilities, they ‘realised the value that I could add to their organisation or business’, that she ‘didn’t need help’, just some ‘barriers to be removed in order to allow [her] to move forward and to get [her] work done’. 

“And that is the key to providing opportunities for people with disabilities, to remove some obstacles and allow them to progress, whether it is in further education, training or employment,” Ms Mangan concluded.

If you are over 16 years of age, and you have a disability, you can register for the programme.

For more information, email rosemariemangan@mayonortheastldc.com or call Siobhán on 087 499 6605.