Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State and her officials are very welcome. I am delighted to see her. I will raise a few matters. The Government announced funding to accelerate the assessment of need waiting lists. This sounds like a very good idea. I am perplexed as to why it is taking so long because there is a waiting list. I understand it takes time, but the National Treatment Purchase Fund has been very successful in other areas. I very much welcome the funding. It is an area we need to push as fast as possible but I appreciate that these things take time.

The programme for Government, Our Shared Future, committed to develop an implementation plan to ensure delivery of Ireland's commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. Will the Minister of State outline the progress to date on that? Have persons with disabilities been included in this process?