Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the equality/disability (miscellaneous provisions) Bill, does the Minister of State know and does he have the detail with him on the number of Acts which will be directly impacted by amendment through the passage of this legislation? My own count is 11 Acts, but I am curious to know if I have missed out on any having gone through it quite carefully. I am anxious to know about the promotion, protection and monitoring framework. According to the heads of the Bill, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will establish an advisory committee the members of which shall have "the lived experience of disability". It does not indicate the numbers who might be in the make-up of the committee. Will the Minister of State advise whether numbers have been determined, how soon we can have that monitoring committee up and running and, in terms of the lived experience of disability, if that formula of words accepts the reality of carers and those who have provided supports to people with varying degrees of disability challenge in their lives? I am interested to know how all-encompassing that phrase is of the numbers to which Senator Dolan has referred of 400,000 and 600,000. It is not only specific to those who have the personal reality of disability, but to the wider involvement and support, both familial and external. All these have a unique and particular contribution to make, in the Chair's opinion. I am curious to know if there has been any fine-tuning of that expectation.