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

To begin with, as the Deputy will be aware from our discussions on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, I believe the measures we have taken in that Act are compliant with the UNCRPD. That is the position of the Government in terms of the principles that are woven into 2015 and 2022 Acts. The fact that the support for a person's will and preference is reiterated throughout in terms of how that Act is interpreted and applied leaves the Government confident that this protects and is compliant with Article 12. I recognise that the Deputy does not agree with that. When Ireland goes before the UNCRPD committee, the position there will be adjudicated on or discussed by the committee. Whoever is in my position at that point will make the case in terms of our compliance.

A number of international treaties that we have signed up to have made reservations on certain articles. I was not in this role or, indeed, in the Oireachtas when we signed up to the UNCRPD. I do not have an overall sense of the arguments made at the time but the central element that we are seeking to secure is respect for an individual's will and preference. We believe that is secured through both the 2015 and 2022 Acts. When we have the opportunity for that hearing before the UNCRPD committee, this is an issue that can be teased out further.