Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 18 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Photo of Ivana BacikIvana Bacik (Labour)
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Professor Quinn is very welcome to the committee and I congratulate him again on his very well deserved appointment. I was thrilled to see him appointed as UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. I pay tribute to him on all the work he has done over many years at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and on an international stage to progress the rights of persons with disabilities in law. It is so important. I thank him for the great presentation and the emphasis he put on equality and the practical import of our committee's work and of the convention.

Senator O'Loughlin pointed out that the committee is keen to ensure we are representing and hearing the voices and lived experiences of persons with disabilities in our work. With this in mind, I want to focus my question on the issue of decongregation. Professor Quinn made a point in his legal memo on segregation and segregated facilities in respect of conflicts. It appears there are conflicts regarding the implementation of the convention between the right to independent living and the use of EU funding to build and refurbish long-term residential institutions. Professor Quinn has said Articles 5 and 19 of the UNCRPD clearly establish that long-term care residential institutions are a form of discrimination. How do we address this, particularly where we have seen concerns expressed by some organisations and individuals that a one-size-fits-all policy of decongregation may not have regard to individual wills and preferences of persons with disabilities? It is one of the areas where we may have difficulty in finding a balance and I would love to hear Professor Quinn's views on this.