Dr. Aideen Hartney:

Similarly, in the higher education sector, universities really invested effort in making some improvement. That is where we see our monitoring work motivating people to try to improve over time.

I will go back to one of the Senator's earlier questions about the optional protocol. We have not done any specific research on the benefits of it. However, there is huge appetite for ratification of the optional protocol. The UNCRPD implementation strategy would be a good opportunity to see what process might underpin that. It provides for an appeal or cases to be taken when all national avenues have been exhausted. One of the things we know from recent conversations we had with the Ombudsman's office is that not as many cases as it expected were taken in respect of the Disability Act. A little awareness raising about national avenues might be done, while awaiting ratification of the optional protocol.