Dr. Eilionóir Flynn:

That phrase has tended to emerge more strongly since questions started to be asked about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That was probably always the approach but various Ministers in successive Governments at different times interpreted whether we were in a position to comply differently. I do not believe anyone would have suggested that in 1986 there were no issues about discrimination against women in Ireland. It is not that we were perfect. With respect to human rights conventions, it is not expected that states will have reached a point where there are no issues for compliance. There are always emerging issues that states must address. It is more a question of a subjective value judgment as to whether we are compliant or ready to ratify a convention but for this specific convention, a very strict approach has been taken to that, which perhaps was not always the approach taken with previous conventions.