Discover the submissions that Rehab Group makes to Government, across a broad range of topics, in order to positively influence the lives of persons with a disability and people who are at a disadvantage.
Rehab Group Submission to Department of Children, Equality and Disability Statement of Strategy 2025-2027
The Rehab Group submission to the Department of Children, Equality, and Disability for the 2025-2027 strategy emphasises the need for a whole-of-government approach to disability inclusion, highlighting the importance of coordinated, cross-sectoral leadership and accountability.
The people who use Rehab Group services are our most important stakeholders. Our overall objective is to ensure their voices are heard both internally and externally.
Rehab Group welcomes the opportunity to participate in this consultation on the Review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme. Rehab Enterprises is one of the largest employment providers for people with disabilities. We operate a unique integrated model of employment, where sectors employees with disabilities work alongside employees without disabilities across a number of sectors. We advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to access meaningful employment. There are many benefits for companies employing people with disabilities including: lower absenteeism; lower staff turnover; a more diverse and positive work environment; increased staff loyalty; and increased ROI on training and development.
Rehab Group welcomes the efforts made to establish a new Pay-Related Benefits system for jobseekers. Over the course of February 2023 the advocacy team in Rehab Group conducted five focus groups with just under 40 students, primarily on vocational training, of National Learning Network to develop an understanding of their experiences and viewpoints for this submission.
In putting this brief submission together, we have drawn on the experience of the people we support and also the experience of frontline staff in supporting people with disabilities. We have also drawn on our experience as one of the largest employers of people with disabilities in Ireland.
Over the course of February 2023 the advocacy team in Rehab Group conducted seven focus groups with over 70 students of National Learning Network to develop an understanding of their experiences and viewpoints and to ensure their voices are heard with regards the future of Lifelong Guidance.
In putting this brief submission together, we have drawn on the experience on the people we support and also the experience of frontline staff in supporting people with disabilities. We have also drawn on our experience as one of the largest employers of people with disabilities in Ireland.
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of employment for people with disabilities in the western world. There are many factors involved and the reasonable accommodations fund has an obvious role to play in addressing this dreadful record.
The central issue in this submission is the low take-up of the existing grant schemes. We also look at ways the existing grants could be improved.
Our submission provides feedback on the draft Initial State Report produced by the State under Article 35 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The evidence presented in this submission is based on the analysis and findings of focus groups carried out this year on the UNCRPD, other recent survey research we have conducted, and our experience as a front-line disability services provider and advocator for the rights for people with disabilities.
Please see below our submission as well as an Easy Read version and an Audio Description version on Soundcloud.
The current eligibility criteria for the SUSI grant is unsuitable for some people with disabilities in Ireland who want to access further and higher education. In this submission, we make recommendations to change the scheme to encompass part-time and online higher education courses, and to include FET in the eligibility criteria for the scheme.
National Learning Network (NLN) has welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the SOLAS 10-Year Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy. Our submission details the challenges and opportunities for Ireland in relation to adult literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy, suggests how to work towards a society with services are universally designed and how stakeholders can collaborate to share learning and contribute to the knowledge base for best practices in adult literacy, numeracy, and digital skills development.
This submission seeks to give voice to issues affecting students with disabilities in the further education sector so that when setting its terms of reference and work-plan, the Disability Matters Committee considers these issues. NLN would particularly like to see an emphasis in the terms of reference and in the work-plan of the Committee on Article 24 (Education), Article 27 (Work) and Article 28 (Adequate Standard of Living & Social Protection) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
One of the key objectives of the Apprenticeship Action Plan 2021 to 2025 as set out in the consultation paper is to encourage diversity and support participation by underrepresented groups in apprenticeships. This submission will look at ways that participation of people with disabilities can increase from a low of 2.7% at the end of 2019 to 7% by the end of 2025.
Rehab Group made a submission in response to the Department Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s consultation process on developing guidance on remote working for employers and employees. We established this as an opportunity to make recommendations to the Department on remote working solutions for persons with disabilities. The submission also seeks clarification from the Department on the use of grants and supports for persons with disabilities who work remotely.
Rehab Group made a submission to the National Transport Authority (NTA) regarding the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (LSMATS). The submission urged that several key recommendations would be included in the Strategy to ensure its accessibility to all following its completion.
The Rehab Group made a submission to SOLAS on the Strategic Direction of Further Education and Training in order to outline actions that, if implemented, would ensure equitable opportunities for all potential FET students and increase the likelihood of students with disabilities achieving personal and academic success at graduation.
The National Learning Network used its expertise, and in particular its experiences on the Stepping Out programme based in Athlone, to highlight areas that are integral to ensuring the strategy’s success, and to emphasise the importance of early intervention, education and diversion of young people at risk of offending and those with a previous conviction.
Rehab Group highlights the challenges faced by individuals we support, students, and their families; their needs throughout lockdown; their current and future needs post-lockdown; and the additional support that the Rehab Group has provided, and will continue to provide, to individuals who use our services. People who access our services have struggled with the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented.
Throughout this submission we at National Learning Network make reference to several issues that have arisen during the pandemic, the impact they have had on our students’ lives and the lives of their families, how we have responded to those issues, and what further action is required.
While the Rehab Group welcomed the National Disability Inclusion Strategy as an important step forward and a progression in important areas, it was important to highlight during the Strategy’s mid-term review areas that could be significantly improved.
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