Belleek Pottery, which employs over 200 people, has been named among the 50 winners of the O2 Ability Awards. The company was recognised for best practice in Recruitment and Selection and Environmental Accessibility categories, and it also received an O2 Ability Award in 2006.

The Awards, now in their third year, encourage Irish employers to recognise the real contribution people with diverse needs make to business.

The first of its kind in the world, the O2 Ability Awards was first established in 2005 and since then over 100 organisations have now been recognised for embracing diversity in terms of employing people with disabilities or targeting them as customers.

The winners, which represent a huge cross-section of business sectors, will attend a special gala evening in Dublin Castle on 13th June where the two overall winners (one from the private sector and one from the non-private sector), six category winners and a new award for the Best Small Company will be announced.

The Awards will be televised on Thursday 14th June at 10.45pm on RTÉ One.

The O2 Ability Awards process included a four month in-depth assessment conducted by disability management consultants, Access Ability together with three days of judging by experts in the fields of business and corporate affairs, disability management, equality management and people with disabilities.

Caroline Casey, the founder of The Aisling Foundation and the O2 Ability Awards programme commented: "It is extremely encouraging to see the spread of organisations that are not only embracing best practice but recognising the significant growth and profit that such diversity brings".

Danuta Gray, CEO, O2 Ireland said these were the organisations that will lead the field in raising awareness, promoting leadership and encouraging best practice in the employment of people with disabilities."