Ms Sinéad Gibney:

I might just touch on the legislative gaps. I will give a catch-all response on this matter and on the public sector duty. Dr. McDonagh may wish to comment on independent living and adult safeguarding.

On the legislative gaps, we have hammered home the message time and again. We have clearly identified where the legislative gaps are. What is needed is not a departure but progress on legislation and policy to give effect to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That is what this committee must oversee. The ticking clock image is appropriate in that the legislation is on the books and needs to be enacted.

Some Members of the Houses may see that some of the legislation we have touched on is quite recent and ask whether we really need to review it. The CRPD will shift the lens and the approach to disability so much that Members will see immediately that some of the legislation is obsolete. Therefore, it is important to examine thoroughly the book of legislation and make sure it is all fit for purpose under the CRPD.

The Senator is a great champion of the public sector duty, and I am aware that she has done a lot of work in the procurement space. The public sector equality and human rights duty has a great part to play in bringing about change within the public sector, particularly in respect of the topics we have already touched on, such as access to public services like transport and access to employment. It is really interesting to see how we can apply it in the area of procurement. This is being done in the Scottish jurisdiction, whereby the public sector duty has been used for procurement in the public sector to inform a more balanced approach to procurement that does not just take account of value for money but also the human rights and equality record of the provider or contractor. It can positively reward contractors and businesses with good records that are contracted by the public services.