Thirty-seven-year-old Samantha Duggan works at the Naas branch of Mr Price, where she says she “loves” working on the tills and on the shop floor.
A Kildare woman is challenging assumptions about disabilities and work, saying: “Obviously, people with intellectual disabilities can work, because I can work.”
Thirty-seven-year-old Samantha Duggan works at the Naas branch of Mr Price, where she says she “loves” working on the tills and on the shop floor.
Ms Duggan attended a special school before moving to a day service run by KARE.
At 30, she sought a change through Project Search, a work-experience programme.
After several disappointments, she secured her current role earlier last year.
“I love working here,” she says.
“I am very good at maths and I like talking to customers," she told the Irish Times.
Mr Price says 18 per cent of its workforce has a disability, supported by the Department of Social Protection wage subsidy scheme.
Ms Duggan says without her job, she would be “sitting at home doing nothing.”
She adds: “People with intellectual disabilities can work. And they can do the job very well.”
Ireland has one of the highest rates of unemployment among people with disabilities.
The Irish Wheelchair Association says fear of losing medical benefits remains a major barrier to taking up work.
Public engagement manager John Fulham says this has a significant impact on the mental health of people with disabilities.
Ms Duggan said she loves her job and knows people with disabilities struggling to find employment.
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