Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 76:

In page 75, line 18, to delete “2006;”,” and substitute the following:

“2006;

(hb) in the performance of its functions as the independent monitoring mechanism under the Convention, to ensure extensive and meaningful engagement with all persons with disabilities in the State, in accordance with Articles 1, 4(3), and 33 of the Convention;”,”.

This amendment creates an obligation on the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, to meaningfully engage with people with disabilities directly in order to obtain information and advice on how the rights of disabled people are being impacted by Ireland's laws and policies, as required by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD. It will ensure the IHREC consults with a wide range of people with disabilities rather than just those who are members of the disability advisory committee, thereby ensuring a larger and more comprehensive range of views from people is included in its assessment of Ireland's compliance with the requirements of the CRPD.

On amendment No. 78, the Minister did not accept this amendment on Committee Stage in the Dáil where he stated there was a need for consistency across legislation. The definition contained in the Disability Act 2005 is well known and well used. However, it is important to note that the 2005 Act was enacted before the drafting and adoption of the CRPD. For this reason, I encourage the Minister to reconsider his approach to the amendment.

On amendment No. 77, the Bill provides welcome clarity on the role of IHREC's disability advisory committee but it would be more appropriate to increase the required proportion of disabled people on the committee from half, as provided for in the Bill, to two thirds of its membership. This would still allow for members from other interested stakeholders and allies, including family members of disabled people, while ensuring that disabled people remain in the clear majority on the committee. The expertise of disabled people is the most relevant kind of expertise for the task of advising on the implementation of the CPRD.