Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ireland fully ratified the UNCRPD in 2018 and the Government remains committed to continuously advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. Ratification of the optional protocol is a commitment in the programme for Government. The timeline for ratifying it was anticipated to follow the conclusion of Ireland's first review period before the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ireland submitted its first state report in November 2021 and we await a review date from the UN committee.

The State must exercise due diligence in agreeing any supranational review. Ireland takes its international obligations seriously and seeks to act in good faith on the international stage. We do not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident the obligations set out within can be completed. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the Taoiseach and I have all stated that we are open to earlier ratification of the optional protocol subject to the State being in a position to meet the obligations that arise.

In order to map out the requirements for ratification, my Department has commenced the process of obtaining external legal advice as part of an ongoing scoping exercise. This advice seeks to identify areas where our legislation needs to change and to ascertain whether we have adequate domestic remedies for the rights in the UNCRPD. My Department expects to receive the results of this scoping exercise in the next number of weeks. Once we have received and considered them, the Minister will bring proposals to the Cabinet setting out the pathway to ratification. To assist this process, an interdepartmental group will be established to allow the Department to work on the relevant changes.

My message today is that we are really moving at pace on this issue. Once the results of the scoping exercise go to the Cabinet, the roundtable discussions will take place. It is really time for knocking heads together at this stage.

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