The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and the National League of the Blind today jointly called on the Minister for Health and Children, Mr. Micheál Martin, TD, to confirm that the 35 person workforce of the Irish BlindCraft factory on Davitt Road, Inchicore, Dublin are included in his commitment that the reform of the health sector will not lead to redundancies for health workers.

Both organisations remind the Minister that the Prospectus report recommends the abolition of the Board for Employment of the Blind, but does not recommend that the current workforce employed by the Board be made redundant. Indeed Prospectus’ recommendation is: “We propose that the Board for the Employment of the Blind cease to exist in its current form. The service provided is similar to other sheltered employment services and as such we recommend that the board be disbanded and that the service be provided for and funded by the relevant RHO.” (Source: Prospectus Audit of Structures and Functions in the Health System 2003. Chapter 10, 4.1 Page 123)

Both the NCBI and the League are committed to protecting the employment of the current BlindCraft workforce, but say they will work with the Minister in looking at new ways of delivering on the Prospectus Report commitment to protect the income of the workforce in a work environment which meets the Minister's needs for rationalisation and the worker's desire to retain their employment.