Liam Herrick

Sigmar Recruitment and Staffline Recruitment were invited to conduct the reviews by the Commission, using its statutory power under section 32(1)(a) of the 2014 IHREC Act.

The reviews will focus on the accessibility of their respective recruitment processes for civil and public service roles for candidates who have visual impairment, specifically in relation to the provision of job application forms and aptitude tests.

In particular, as part of their equality reviews, the Commission invited each agency to:

• conduct an audit of the level of equality of opportunity that exists for candidates with a visual impairment in the recruitment of civil and public service roles;
• identify all relevant current practices, procedures or other factors (for example, strategies, plans and positive action initiatives) that relate to the recruitment of civil and public service roles for individuals with a visual impairment;
• assess the effectiveness of such practices, procedures and other factors in relation to the recruitment of civil and public service roles and the equality of opportunity of job candidates with a visual impairment; and
• outline any recommendations and/or findings from the equality review.

Chief commissioner Liam Herrick said: “An effective and informed civil and public sector that aspires to deliver for all the people in Ireland must be reflective of the society it serves, in all its diversity.

“People with disabilities, including those with visual impairment, should be encouraged to join the sectors.

“Equality reviews are an important opportunity for an organisation to reflect on its systems and practices and to assess the level of equality of opportunity within that organisation and identify how it can do better to promote equality of opportunity.

“We welcome both Sigmar Recruitment’s and Staffline Recruitment’s willingness to engage in this process.”