Abbot tops in ability awards

PHARMACEUTICAL company Abbott Vascular and Cavan County Council were announced as the overall winners of the O2 Ability Awards in Dublin last night.

A local supermarket – Kernan’s Eurospar in Donegal, took the top prize in the small company category at the awards ceremony at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham.

The awards, now in their fourth year, highlight the compelling business case for the inclusion of people with disabilities.

There were 38 organisations short-listed for this year’s awards and together they employ 47,750 people in organisations spanning eight different sectors across 14 counties.

According to the judges, Abbott Vascular, based in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, recognised the business advantage of retaining trained and experienced employees and had great access to information on ability and disability.

The judges said Cavan County Council had shown it could put disability policies into action, delivering business benefits both internally and externally.

Kernan’s Eurospar, operated by Anthony Kernan, was declared the best small company winner because of its all-round commitment to people with disabilities, both as employers and as providers of a retail service.

Other category winners included McDonalds, Ennis, Co Clare, for its customer service, EMC for leadership and Waterways Ireland for environmental accessibility.

Citi was awarded for its recruitment and selection process while Dublin City Public Libraries and Archive got top honours in the learning, development and progression category. The retention and well being award went to Medtronic.

Kanchi founder and creator of the O2 Ability Awards, Caroline Casey, said recognising ability in business was more important than ever in the current economic climate.

The awards show, hosted by RTÉ broadcaster, Ryan Tubridy and Ms Casey, will feature in a documentary that will be broadcast on RTÉ One tonight at 10.45pm.