Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 35 addresses both the problematic language and the intention in the Bill. While updating of the Juries Act 1976 is welcome, the current wording needs to be improved. It needs to be amended. We presume when the Bill refers to mental or intellectual incapacity rather than capacity that that is a typo, as Deputy Sherlock mentioned. However, even the language "mental or intellectual capacity" is inconsistent with the 2015 Act, which deliberately does not include any reference to specific cognitive impairments. Disabled Women Ireland has pointed out that this type of language focuses on the person's impairment and how it may be difficult for them to participate. It does not recognise or place any onus on the State or the Courts Service to reasonably accommodate them to participate. Similarly, Joe McGrath, committee member of the National Platform of Self Advocates, summed it up so well when he said people with intellectual disabilities should not be ruled out of being on a jury just because someone thinks they cannot understand what is happening in court. The Bill presents a paternalistic and medicalised model of disability. It focuses on incapacities rather than putting forward progressive laws and associated supports to assist disabled people to participate in juries. This amendment replicates the approach proposed in the Law Reform Commission's 2013 report and was suggested by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway, during pre-legislative scrutiny.