Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The explanatory memorandum of the Bill states “legislative clarity” is needed on residential care facilities. Who has the statutory responsibility for making a decision that a patient should not leave residential care for health and safety reasons and what appeals should be in place to give legal clarity to it? The convention represents a substantial shift from the medical model to a rights based social model. This involves a move away from regarding people with disabilities as persons who require assistance due to their impairments towards regarding them as holders of rights who are entitled to social integration, under the social model. A clear indication of how people with disabilities live their lives is highlighted by the fact that events to celebrate international day of persons with disabilities had to be held on a Friday rather than on a Saturday last December, given that no accessible transport would be available on the Saturday, according to Martin Tobin of Clare Leader Forum.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, and Inclusion Ireland are concerned that the Government does not propose to implement the convention’s requirements that reasonable accommodation be provided to persons with disabilities in all spheres of society. IHREC recommends we move away from institutional care, that preferably community based care should be provided with adequate funding and that this should be underpinned by legislation. Member states are obliged to take all reasonable steps to ensure reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities. This is something about which I feel strongly and would fully endorse. Will the Minister of State give the reasons for not implementing this requirement regarding accommodation?

IHREC welcomes the proposed promotion, protection and monitoring in the Bill, which is to be overseen by IHREC. Will the Government facilitate persons with disabilities monitoring implementation of the convention?

The commission also recommends the absolute prohibition of detention of persons with disabilities, and this is absolutely correct. The commission and Inclusion Ireland recommends that persons with disability should not be discriminated against in any manner and, for instance, should have access to voting and to sitting on a jury - provided the person possess the decision-making capacity to exercise these rights.

Inclusion Ireland would prefer that the advisory committee to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission would be made up entirely with persons with disability or a family member, rather than just made up of 50%. Inclusion Ireland also regrets that there was no public consultation on any aspect of the new legislation. Inclusion Ireland recommends that rather than the Department of Justice and Equality having responsibility for implementing the Convention, responsibility would be placed in the Department of the Taoiseach. This would ensure that the implementation would have cross-departmental focus. In supporting the Bill I regret the unacceptable delay of ten years, from the time Ireland signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to this move to start the ratification process. I believe the Bill can be improved in several ways and I encourage the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath to take the views of all stakeholders and the views of those with disabilities into account as soon as possible, while progressing the Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas.

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