Ms Fiona O'Donovan:

The answer to that is that we are the only EU state that has not ratified the convention. We have signed it, but we have not ratified it. All the other EU member states have signed and ratified it. It is a bit of a misnomer, but it means that they have undertaken the obligations. How it is actually happening in other countries is a very good question, if I may say so. The honest answer, from our experience at EU level, is that it varies. There is a process to implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. Realistically, certain countries are prioritising certain aspects, rather than saying that they are going to solve every problem today and then nothing will have to be done. That is not how it works. We cannot set a timeframe with the UNCRPD, meet that timeframe in two years and be done with it. It is an ongoing process. Yes, the other EU member states are certainly working towards it, but equally there will be different stages of compliance. There may be areas where member states will be particularly advanced, while in other areas they are working on catching up. That is in keeping with the UNCRPD being an ongoing process. Things will change, new laws will come in, and everything must then be found to be compliant. It does not have such a definitive deadline for implementation. There will have to be an ongoing implementation, an ongoing incorporation of people with disabilities into policies.