John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to acknowledge the launch of the national disability inclusion strategy by the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, last Friday and the welcome attendance at the launch of Ministers, Deputies Shane Ross, Simon Harris and Regina Doherty and the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran. I acknowledge that a range of measures have come into place over the past year, namely, the extra funding for disability services, the approximately 10,000 children who are now getting medical cards, the launch of the Make Work Pay report earlier this year and the personalised budgets work which is to come to fruition by the end of this year.

There is a range of practical commitments in that strategy. However, despite all that progressive news, I felt that I had to write to An Taoiseach yesterday. In that letter I recalled his commitment of 14 June last, on his appointment, to the ratification of the UN convention by the end of this year. I then stated that on reading the whole-of-government implementation plan for the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021, I could not find in it that timeline for ratification that he gave in the Dáil. I requested that he would confirm his commitment, as given to the Dail, regarding the ratification by the end of this year.

I do not particularly want to rehash the sorry saga of commitments and recommitments made in and since the programme for Government of early last year. If that omission was in error, that is forgivable, but if it was deliberate, it is not forgivable while there are more than 600,000 people with disabilities and their families. Otherwise, it is a serious issue to make one statement in the Dáil and literally 30 days later to find that it does not appear in the Government's implementation strategy for people with disabilities. What is most notable are comments on post-ratification timelines for two actions in particular on page 11 of the strategy, related, first, to ratification of the optional protocol and, second, the work to review and advise on implementation. However, under the timeframe heading for those actions, and elsewhere in the strategy, it does not state that it will be done by the end of 2017.

The Dáil is in recess from late July until late September. It went into recess last Friday and this House will rise in two days time. I call for the Taoiseach to come into this House before we rise for the summer recess to confirm the end of 2017 deadline for the ratification of the UN convention. I respectfully ask the Leader and the Members of this House to facilitate the Taoiseach in this regard.