Ms Sarah O'Brien:

I think everyone across government is committed to the principle of "nothing about us without us" and the fulfilment of our obligations under Article 4.3 of the UNCRPD, which sets out the role of DPOs. Under the next national disability strategy, that is one of the things we are looking at. We are seeking to co-design, with stakeholders and DPOs in particular, the appropriate structures for the development, implementation and monitoring of policy, including the next national disability strategy and where that sits in the broader policy landscape. We are working to build on learnings from the disability participation and consultation network, which was reviewed by the National Disability Authority last year as part of that work. Crucial to that is the issue of capacity building within DPOs to ensure that consultation will be effective and that DPOs will be resourced to interact meaningfully with the State.

On the issue of a register in particular, any register of DPOs will require careful consultation with stakeholders as to the criteria appropriate for that mechanism, and the precise mechanisms of this work are being worked out in consultation with DPOs as part of the building blocks for the next national disability strategy.