Creating meaningful employment for those of us with disabilities

A PARTNERSHIP between two organisations has created meaningful employment to people with disabilities.

Gaelite.com is an Irish-based company with clients across the European Union.

The company teamed up with Rehab Enterprises to support the employment of eight people with disabilities in Ballymount, creating Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) foyers to house recycling machines.

The DRS units are being rolled out at supermarkets across the country enabling consumers to return metallic cans and plastic bottles for recycling.

Rehab Enterprises employees, some of whom have hearing impairments, are working with Tallaght-based Rehab Enterprises, which is part of the Rehab Group, a social enterprise which provides supported employment to people with disabilities.

Employees at the Ballymount site include people from Ireland, Zimbabwe, as well as a family that have fled the Ukraine.

Finbarr Clarkson, Managing Director of Gaelite.com, said that the partnership “is a              major win-win for all involved” and is “bringing manpower to the flourishing recycling sector.”

“You couldn’t get a more loyal bunch of people,” said Dave O’Loughlin, manager at the Gaelite.com site in Ballymount.

“They all bring their talents and craftsmanship to the job, and the result is that we are able to create world-class DRS units which everyone will start to see when they visit their local supermarket in the coming months.”

Dave, who has worked in Gaelite.com for 14 years, completed disability awareness training with Rehab Enterprises, saying it was extremely worthwhile to gain that level of understanding.

“Some of the employees here are deaf, which means they use their own national sign language. As their manager, I didn’t know sign language when they first started working with us, but in a very short space of time, we have created our very own language here in Ballymount. It’s like a microcosm where we can communicate together as a team. There is never any issue, and I think that it’s really important to let people and businesses know, that being open to people with disabilities and people of different backgrounds, can really be so worthwhile for everyone”.

“It’s brilliant to already see some of our DRS units when I’m shopping with my kids, and to see them being used by other shoppers. The staff get a thrill out of that too, they show me photos on their phones of the units when they spot them at their local shops,” said Dave.

The Government’s deposit-return scheme goes live in early 2024.

A refundable deposit is placed on all PET plastic bottles and aluminium and steel cans which is then refunded to the consumer when they return their bottles and cans for recycling. The aim of a DRS is to increase recycling rates and reduce drinks-container litter.