Results 18,901-18,920 of 22,424 for speaker:Finian McGrath

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: If the discussions are not concluded, how can I-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I am after giving the Deputy a commitment that I will come back to him with all the facts when I have them available to me. How can I give him facts if we have not concluded the talks? These are health issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Of course, I will come back to the committee. I recognise it is part of the disability debate. In the morning that was in it, I thought we were focussed on the justice aspect of disability.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act provides a statutory modern framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The Act was signed into law on 30 December 2015. Budget 2018 provided an allocation of €3 million for the Decision Support Service under a new subhead, D10, of the justice and equality Vote. The commencement of the provision of the Act is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I will come back to the Deputy with a more detailed response from the Department and the Minister for Health. I think it will take two years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, because we want to be prepared. The whole strategy was that ratification of the UN convention was an important step. The Department of Health organised a consultation process on this issue. We advertised in the newspapers and we received many submissions from senior citizens, as well as disability and mental health groups. It proved more complex than we thought. The Minister for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, we can provide an up-to-date roadmap on this. The NDA is working on 11 codes of practice on this issue. The work is slow because the issues are complex.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I was not in this job five years ago. When I started to try to ratify the UN convention two years ago, it was a slow debate. In the end, we had to keep on pushing the issue forward. I accept the Deputy's point on frustration. However, the fact we ratified the UN convention on 19 April will, hopefully, speed up the process. If it were not ratified, we would be in a weak position. There...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I will take the whole lot together. I thank the Senator for all his work. The Oireachtas disability group is a valuable tool and Deputy Ó Caoláin is the vice-chairman. It is important we have multiple voices. On the Senator's initial points I have not seen the Inclusion Ireland document yet but I meet the organisation regularly and work closely with it. I am on the issue and I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: -----I will appreciate any help. Last year, I went in looking for an extra €100 million and I ended up with €92 million. Some people would say that is not bad going in negotiations. That was in respect of the social care plan. Senator Dolan is correct, however, and Deputy Jack Chambers mentioned this as well. We can talk about resources but we have to make sure that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for his comments. I take his point with regard to Senator Dolan's comment about which committee is responsible. As far as I am concerned, disability and inclusion are contemplated as part of the broader issue of equality. That is a very relevant aspect. On the comprehensive employment strategy, the Department of Justice and Equality is leading on its...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Which ones?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: What aspect of the wage subsidy scheme?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, absolutely. With regard to social protection, I mentioned the Intreo offices. There are approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people in the scheme now. That figure might not have changed recently but the answer is "Yes". We have to ensure positive discrimination in regard to the employment issue. There are a couple of thousand people on the scheme and we need to develop it. We need to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: According to my briefing, that convention is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan. The existing legislation does not provide procedural safeguards to ensure individuals are not unlawfully deprived of their liberty. The draft legislative proposals that I published for public consultation last December are designed to address this gap by providing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I thank the Deputy. I know that, like the Chair, he is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. I agree that we need to have a broader view, as the Deputy said earlier when he spoke about the optional protocol. Of course, I will have discussions with the Minister for Justice and Equality in respect of this issue. It is unacceptable that there are polling stations which are not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Yes, the best cigars in the world. There are disabilities in Cuba, which is a country that has been hammered by an embargo. It has been hammered by its next-door neighbour - America - for 60 years. When I met the Cuban Minister who deals with disabilities, she brought me around. It is interesting that there were no people on trolleys in this supposedly poor country. They had a plan of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: Give me another two years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Update on Disability Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality (27 Jun 2018)

Finian McGrath: I welcome the Deputy and I will facilitate a meeting with his colleagues from Cork. We will see if we can be supportive of parents and children in that school. We must see what is the problem or the delay. I agree with that. The Deputy is 100% right about polling stations and accessibility is important. Even in smaller locations with polling stations, it is easy to adapt and provide...