Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend the meeting today, and I look forward to a strong relationship with the committee in my role as Minister. Disability will fall within the new extended remit of my Department. By bringing responsibility for the delivery of disability services from the Department of Health and responsibility for equality policy from the Department of Justice, we are seeking to take a wider view of the lives of people with disabilities based on an understanding that disability is not solely a health matter, but something far more all-encompassing. We are in the process of moving responsibility for service delivery from the Department of Health to my Department. We hope to achieve that fully by the first quarter of 2021. At that point, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I will be working directly in the same Department. Until then, statutory responsibility for disabilities service delivery remains in the Department of Health.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities. The national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, is our key framework for policy and action in this regard. This takes a whole-of-government approach to improving the lives of people with disabilities and creating the best possible opportunities for people to fulfil their potential. The NDIS steering group oversees implementation of the strategy. The group is chaired by the Minister of State and meets quarterly. It includes representatives from Departments, the National Disability Authority and members of the disability stakeholder group.

Since the launch of the NDIS in 2017 there has been significant progress across a number of key areas. The most notable achievement was the ratification by the previous Government of the UNCRPD in March 2018. The strategy also includes a range of actions to support people with disabilities to enter and remain in employment, and expanding opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in employment is a key priority for me. There has been progress in other areas as well, such as improvements in transport accessibility, including the reduction of the notice period for DART and train users, and improved accessibility in some train and bus stations. Obviously, more work has to be done in that area.

A mid-term review of the NDIS was published earlier this year. It was completed following consultation with disability stakeholders and relevant Departments and agencies. The stakeholders indicated that they wanted to see a focus in the next years on implementing existing commitments within the strategy. They are particularly interested in those elements that are essential for the implementation of the obligations that arise from our signing and ratification of the convention. As such, advancing those points that are relevant to the ratification of the convention is a key priority. Our approach to meeting the obligations of the convention is one of progressive realisation and each year moving forward on key reforms.

As we continue to advance the implementation of the convention, it is vital that the Government hears the voice of people with lived experience of disabilities. The experience and perspectives of people with disabilities are essential to enable us to develop policies and programmes that meet their needs most effectively. That is why the Government is funding a disability participation and consultation network as one of the key actions to fulfil our responsibilities under the convention. The Minister of State announced that earlier this year. The aim of this network is to provide new opportunities for persons with disabilities to be involved in the development of policies and legislation. One of the network's first tasks will be to engage with the State's first report to the UN on our progress in implementing the convention. Following an open competitive process run by my Department, Inclusion Ireland has been selected as the organising member for this new network. Inclusion Ireland will work with four other organisations, the national autism organisation AsIAm, the Disability Federation of Ireland, the Coalition of Disabled Persons Organisations and Mental Health Reform. These organisations were selected competitively to act as grant-funded members of the network. There will be a further selection process for individuals or organisations to be involved in the network.

A consultation process will shortly be launched on the State report that Ireland will submit to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is the Government's intention, as indicated in the programme for Government, to ratify the optional protocol to the convention once the first reporting cycle has been completed.

Another important step towards the full realisation of the commitments in the convention will be to commence the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015, enact the disability (miscellaneous provisions) Bill and enable the decision support service to become fully operational. I secured an increase in the budget for the decision support service of €2 million, bringing its budget up to €5.8 million.

We want to see effective structures which allow persons with disabilities to fulfil their rights. This extends from the Houses of the Oireachtas to the courts and throughout the everyday life of the individual. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I are determined that our new Department will be rooted in human rights and social justice and we will drive these changes in government. Our aim is the needs of children and adults with disabilities. Their families will have their needs addressed and will be able to participate more fully in society. I look forward to questions from the committee and further long-term engagement with all the members.