Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Mr. Jones and Ms Ellis for their opening statements. It is interesting to see how the Garda and the court system is dealing with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and its implementation. It is very important.

Ms Denning said that 7% of the workforce in the Courts Service have declared themselves as having disabilities. That is well below the population average, which is in or around 20%. How is the Courts Service dealing with that? She also mentioned that the Courts Service is dealing with AsIAm in the context of being autism friendly. I would like to know what that entails. What is the nature of the discussion with AsIAm? This is important.

It is clear that crimes against people with disabilities are a bigger issue and that people with disabilities are at a greater risk in general terms. These crimes seem to be under-reported to a large extent. Do we have any idea of how under-reported they are? What is the process for prosecuting people for committing crimes against people with disabilities and those with intellectual disabilities?

I have experience of dealing with the Garda in terms of mental health and with the system that is in place. There is supposed to be a police psychiatrist available at every police station to with people who come into the station in a psychotic or some other state. However, the process is so slow that, more often than not, after a period of being in the police station, the person comes down from the psychotic state they were in and ends up not getting sent to hospital or to one of the mental health facilities. That is very discouraging. I have experienced it on a number of occasions.

I am curious about how video transmission works when it comes to people with disabilities. I am sure that is very challenging for many of those with disabilities. However, it would also be very challenging for the witnesses in terms of how they deal with it. Is that being used much or is it just something that is there? I am just not sure. Of course, it is very important that everyone has access. If people cannot make it to a court or Garda station, that type of help could be useful.