Disability and Labour Force Participation in Ireland

The extent and nature of participation in the labour market by persons affected by disability has a multitude of direct and indirect effects on their living standards and quality of life, and so is a critical area for investigation and policy concern. This paper seeks to quantify the effects of disability on labour force participation in Ireland for the first time. Using data from the Living in Ireland Survey, 2000 and the Quarterly National Household Survey Disability Module 2002, we look at the relationship between participation and self-reported disability. The results show that those individuals reporting a severely limiting condition have a much lower probability of participation in the labour force than others, and this continues to be the case having controlled for other characteristics such as age, education and marital status. The reporting of such conditions itself may not be exogenous, however, and this is a priority for further research.