International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Is your research related to accessability and disabilities?

UCD Disability Subgroup in collaboration with UCD Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion Unit is inviting UCD Community (employees and students) to share short videos about their research, 30-60 seconds.

We want to showcase the excellent research underway in UCD to make our society accessilbe for persons with disabilities. If you work or study at UCD, why not share a video.

Step 1: Instructions for submitting a video on your research 

Instructions for submitting a video on your research Word document

Step 2: Completing step 2 is only required by UCD students

Consent Form (Students Only)

Step 3: Submit your video to (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie  

The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

Most often, in moments of crises, people in vulnerable situations such as persons with disabilities are the most excluded and left behind. In line with the central premise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “leave no one behind”, it is crucial for governments, public and private sectors to collaboratively find innovative solutions for and with persons with disabilities to make the world a more accessible and equitable place. 

Diversity Data recording on the Employee Self-Service (ESS) Portal

University staff are invited to update or amend their diversity data confidentially and voluntarily in the Core ESS diversity data page.  The development of this page marks a significant move forward for the University in the area of Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). This tool allows the University will collect data across all equality grounds  including disability for existing employees and it is hoped that this will assist us in getting a clearer understanding of the diversity makeup within the University community and to help us achieve our EDI and University strategic objectives. 

How to update your Diversity details: 

To update your diversity details please follow the instructions below:

1. Click (opens in a new window)Go to the Employee Self Service portal and, if required, log in using your UCD Username and password and follow all prompts.
2. This will bring you to the ESS homepage. On the top/upper-left corner, click on the circle (containing your initials) next to your name which will open a new page.
3. On the next page, click the Diversity tab on the left-hand side. This will reveal the dropdown options called page 1 and page 2.
4. Please update your diversity details on Page 1 and click Save (bottom right) to record your diversity details before moving to page 2. 
5. Once finished on page 2, please click save (bottom right) to record your diversity details.

* If you do not click save, any details which you have updated will not be saved.

We would encourage all employees to review their diversity details regularly to ensure they are correct and up to date.

If you have problems logging in or don't know your university username or password, please contact HR via email to (opens in a new window)hrhelpdesk@ucd.ie . If you have any questions about the information shown in Employee Self-Service Diversity page, please contact the EDI Office via email to (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie.

Why are we collecting this data:

Under the (opens in a new window)Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014 and Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, all public higher education institutions must undertake equality assessment and monitoring. This is in addition to having policies and plans to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of staff, students and the wider public that are served by the work of the higher education institution.
 
The collection of EDI data has become an increasing priority within the higher education sector, with a recent announcement of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) that third-level institutions will be required to provide annual statistics on certain diversity characteristics of their employees (gender, ethnicity). UCD is one of many institutions that have launched this type of tool in recent years.

We also submit a report to the National Disability Authority (NDA) annually on the percentage of staff members who have disclosed a disability and information on the work we do to support staff members with disabilities. In Ireland since the late 1970s, there has been an official target for 3% of the staff of public bodies to be people with disabilities. Under the Comprehensive Strategy for People with Disabilities (2015 – 2024), the Government has committed to increasing the public service employment target for persons with disabilities on an incremental basis from a minimum of 3% to a minimum of 6% by 2024.