John Dolan (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Senator Frances Black, for allowing me to take her slot at this meeting. I am delighted that Senator Colette Kelleher and other colleagues from the Seanad are here this morning.

I will put this issue in context. The Minister of State has honourably opened this debate by saying that promised ratification will not take place by the end of this year. We have received strong and worthy submissions from a number of bodies this morning. The Human Rights Commission, GLEN and the Centre for Disability Law and Policy have gone to a lot of trouble to scrutinise elements of the heads of the Bill.

I have asked myself now and again whether ratification of the convention is a pie in the sky endeavour and something unconnected to the day-to-day lives of people with disabilities. I quickly reached the conclusion that it is quite the opposite. As the Minister of State has said, the convention was adopted in 2006 and was quickly accepted by the Irish State. Non-ratification is simply no longer justifiable. I believe there has been an ongoing dragging of feet, which is a disgrace, although I accept that the Minister of State is committed to this area.

There are three hallmarks to disability and mental health and the first two are poverty and exclusion. They bring a loss of hope for a real life and that is still a fact of life for people. Austerity still stalks the lives of people with disabilities and their families. When they see what has not happened after repeated commitments have been given, they do not have a reasonable hope that things will change. It would be helpful this morning if the Minister of State levelled with the 600,000 people with disabilities, their families and carers.

It would also be useful and appreciated if he would share his best estimate, his gut feeling, as to why the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has not been ratified given that the timing of its ratification has been repeatedly, and very recently, set out on behalf of the Government. The Minister of State said that he made the mistake of putting a date on it. It is not only him who spoke of this; the former Government spoke of this and the current Government has said over the past year that this would be done and dusted. There are many other elements involved in this aside from the Minister of Sate.

There are three important aspects to the Minister of State's role in this matter. The first is that he participates in Cabinet. My organisation, the Disability Federation of Ireland, has for many years campaigned for a Minister at Cabinet to throw an eye over what is happening across the whole gamut of government. The Minister of State was involved in the programme for Government negotiations and he engages with the Taoiseach and Ministers on a regular basis. Given those three aspects, people with disabilities deserve, if nothing else, some straight talking at this stage. We have gone beyond hearing the giving of further commitments. In fact, the Minister of Sate is understandably shy about making a further commitment this morning on the timeline. These commitments are now debased as a currency. It is important the political reasons as to why this has not happened are set out for people with disabilities. Talk of technical hitches in this Department and that office do not cut it any more.

In putting my question to the Minister of State, I will offer a multiple choice because these are the type of concerns people have raised and are bothered about. There are four points. Is the reason the convention has not been ratified down to the fact that there simply are not enough votes in this issue? Is disability too much of a drag on our scarce resources? Are there powerful and influential competing interests, or are there more important and urgent issues? Those are the core concerns and questions people with disabilities and their families have regarding this matter.

I will support my question, which is underpinned by assertions about which I will be clear, by reference to two areas of evidence. One I would describe as coming from the mouth of Government and the other one comes from other reputable and independent sources. The roadmap to ratification document in October 2015 states: "Further Consultations in 2016. Legislative provisions to be included as necessary in the... Bill, for enactment in 2016." A Programme for A Partnership Government states: "The drafting of legislation to address a range of legislative barriers to ratification is underway with a view to putting it before the Oireachtas before the end of 2016." On 10 May 2016, an article in The Irish Times stated:

The Government and Minister for Justice have promised the... Convention... will be ratified "within six months", according to the new Minister for the area.

Finian McGrath, an independent TD and newly appointed Minister of State with responsibility... said he got the ratification into the programme for Government and got "a commitment from Frances Fitzgerald and from that the Government that will be ratified within six months".

Six months from that date was 9 November 2016 to be a little fussy about it.

On 22 June 2016, the Minister of State replied to a Commencement matter I tabled on this matter in the Seanad and he stated: "When we ratify the convention by the end of this year, we will be making a solemn commitment to the international community that our body of domestic legislation is fully in line with the convention and fully meets the standards required [of the convention]..." The Minister of State spoke of making a solemn commitment to the international community but what is more important to me is the making of a solemn commitment to the people of Ireland to the 600,000 disabled people, 200,000 carers and their families. That is the nub of the issue.

On 16 November 2016, the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, stated:

The General Scheme of the Equality/Disability... Bill is available on the Department's website. The Bill is at the final stages of drafting and while I am not in a position to give an exact date, I expect to publish the Bill very shortly so as to facilitate ratification of the Convention by end-2016.

On 1 December 2016, the Minister of Sate in response to a Deputy's question stated:

...I set myself the objective of ratifying the convention by the end of 2016. I knew there were blockages to that and I am now getting the feeling that I might not meet my target. That said, it might be possible to meet it only a number of weeks later. It will be done shortly. There are blockages within the legislative process and problems which must be resolved, which is why I have not signed it yet. I hope to see it done as quickly as possible - in a matter of weeks, in fact.

That is an outline of the litany of what we have heard.

I will now briefly set out the facts and figures. We know there are 600,000 people with disabilities and about their carers and families. Those with disabilities account for 13% of our population. Three out of every five people over the age of 60 have a chronic condition or disability. There are high levels of consistent poverty among those with disabilities, 13% compared to 2% among those at work. A total of 51% of people are not at work due to illness or disability suffer enforced deprivation, which represents an increase of over 40% since 2008. Enforced deprivation is not being able to have a bit of meat or fish with one's dinner now and again. It is not having sufficient heating and other such items. A total of 30% of people with disabilities are active in the labour force. That is a participation rate of less than 50% of that of the overall population. People with disabilities are way more likely to be unemployed.

Housing is a topical issue currently and particularly yesterday and today. The Rebuilding Ireland action plan did not even reference the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government's figures of just under 4,000 people with disabilities on the social housing waiting list, never mind make any commitment to do something about it in the next four years. A third of people with disabilities have been found to leave education before they intended. We may be ahead of some countries in this area but we need to be where we have committed to be, not just better than other countries.

I repeat that the hallmarks of life with a disability are poverty, exclusion and a loss of hope to be a real participant in this country. Austerity is still stalking the day to day lives of people with disabilities and mental health issues. They have no reasonable hope based on what has been happening with commitment after commitment having been given but this still not being done. Can the Minister of State level with us and give us some reasonable explanation at a political level as to why this convention has not been ratified by Government a decade after Ireland signed it?