asked the Minister for Health what provisions exist for the encouragement of the employment of handicapped persons.

The health boards under the provisions of sections 68 and 69 of the Health Act, 1970, operate a rehabilitation service for handicapped persons, mainly through voluntary organisations. The health boards pay grants to the agencies in respect of training and so on, and persons living away from home while training are paid maintenance allowances.

The National Rehabilitation Board operate a placement service for those who have completed training and maintain close contact with employers with a view to obtaining employment for the trainees.

Arising out of the recommendations in the Report on Training and Employing the Handicapped a number of community workshops have been established. These have a dual role of training for open employment and providing sheltered work for those who are not fitted for such employment. AnCO also take a number of suitable handicapped persons into their training centres for a higher level of skilled training.

On paper this is very admirable but in practice it is not working out so well. Could I ask the Minister if he would consider the introduction of a disabled persons Bill in the Dáil or something to guarantee a charter of rights for the disabled so that we could compel employers who have a certain number of people employed to employ a percentage of disabled persons in that number? I realise that in the present economic situation it is not easy to consider this, but it should be looked at for future years.

Could I ask the Minister——

The practice of Deputies standing up and asking supplementary questions without the permission of the Chair is much too frequent.

I apologise to the Chair for any discourtesy.

I permit the Deputy to ask a question now.

Could I ask the Minister if he has any figures to suggest the relative success rate in recent years of handicapped persons in obtaining employment?

That is pertinent to the next question.

3.