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People with disabilities 'want to do meaningful work'

People with disabilities 'want to do meaningful work'

The current employment rate for people with disabilities is half that of people without disabilities, with eight out of 10 people with disabilities never going back to work.

The World Health Organisation says up to half of businesses in OECD countries may choose to pay fines rather than meet quotas on disability.

Mark Pollock, founder of the Mark Pollock Trust is blind and paralysed. He says there are serious discussions to be had around inclusion.

"I think the message that we need to get across is that people with disabilities are up to the job that they are qualified to do," he said.

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"They don't want to be given a job just for a job's sake, they want to do meaningful work where they can contribute, in a meaningful way, to the organisation that they are involved in."

Niamh Herbert, Kildare, and Sean O’Kelly, Dalkey, at a protest calling for ratification of the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities earlier this year. Picture: Gareth Chaney

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