Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. As other speakers have said, this is a very welcome development and the Minister and his team are to be congratulated on it.

I join others in asking the Minister to comment on the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I understand, having spent some time in the Department of Justice and Equality, that it is not an easy process. The way that the Government addresses such issues is to put all of the legislation in place first and then to ratify the convention. I ask the Minister to comment on that, given the day that is in it.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party worked very well together in government on certain issues, including in the health sphere, where we managed to introduce free GP care for every child under six. It is disappointing that this was not rolled out for a wider age cohort. Given that this is a welcome move that benefits children with a disability, I ask the Minister to comment on the Government's plan to roll out free GP care to a wider age group. I congratulate the Minister and his Department on a job well done with this legislation.