The disability policy of the Irish Government has undergone radical change in the past decade, and is still changing. Underlying this transformation has been a change in philosophy towards mainstreaming in relation to all services for people with disabilities, especially in the fields of...

This report reviews the evidence to support the contention that increasing numbers of young people (16 - 34 years) are entering the disability benefits system. It attempts to place this evidence within the context of the many factors that are known to influence the economic activity and labour...

This paper presents the results of Phase 3 of The RETURN Project, a European Study which aimed to reduce long term absenteeism in the workplace. Phases 1 and 2 have been described in detail elsewhere. The Study adopted an iterative approach that explored LTA from three different perspectives:...

The main aim of the workshop was to examine the rise in the number of young people with disabilities. In many EU Member States, there is increasing policy concern about the growing numbers of young people who are entering long-term disability schemes. It appears that the nature of the illnesses...

This report looks at the evolution of initiatives related to older employees undertaken by selected organisations (case studies) in Romania over the last decade. It reviews the following points: main impacts of measures/initiatives at the company level; driving forces for implementing good...

The number of people on long-term disability benefits in Europe is rising and this group is particularly at risk of social exclusion. Although many of those away from work for a long period due to illness or injury would like to rejoin the workforce, very few actually do so in practice. This...

This report examines social exclusion through illness, specifically the processes whereby people who develop chronic illnesses are excluded from the workforce. It proposes a new model for understanding the nature of this problem, it develops an assessment tool for new initiatives in the area and...