Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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As the Acting Chairperson and Minister of State know, this is disability week and tomorrow is International Day of People with Disability. It is an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come in the world in terms of people with disabilities and what has been achieved, as well as to celebrate their successes and the massive contribution they make to society. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how much more needs to be done. Some 10% of our population have disabilities and they and their families make a huge contribution to and are of benefit to our society. There are many inequalities in Ireland, however, such as in respect of transport.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. She will appreciate where I am coming from. Transport is critically important for people with disabilities, not just in terms of connectivity but giving them the opportunity to access employment and so forth. There is significant disparity in access to transport for people with disabilities in rural Ireland compared to urban Ireland. While everything is not right in urban Ireland in terms of access to transport people for with disabilities, it is far from right for people who live in rural Ireland. There may only be three or four options a day, depending on the town and village in which people live, to connect to a more urban area for work. There are many towns and villages in this country where there is no connectivity at all. Even getting to work is an issue and sometimes does not happen.

In terms of employment, as far as I am concerned this country is a laggard when it comes to employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, nearly 80% of the blind and visually impaired community in this country are unemployed and rely on State support, which is totally unacceptable. I commend the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, NCBI, which has produced a well-thought-out employment strategy to improve access to employment for people who are blind or visually impaired.

The reason I have tabled this Commencement matter is because of Ireland's commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. It was a great day in 2018 when the last Government ratified that convention because it meant that Ireland, along with the world, was recognising the important contribution people with disabilities make. Unfortunately, the optional protocol still has not been implemented. When does the Government intend to ratify the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? Can she give us a timeframe? Can she explain why, almost four years on from Ireland's ratification of the convention, we still have not implemented the optional protocol?

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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Before I call on the Minister of State, I wish to acknowledge Senator Conway's enormous work in advocacy for the disability sector generally. He has been an amazing advocate, and a strong and vocal champion, for the NCBI, the National League of the Blind of Ireland Trust and the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. What better and more powerful way to be an advocate than in the Houses of the Oireachtas, playing a real role in terms of legislation? I do not want to let this opportunity go without acknowledging that fact.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I want to echo the words of the Acting Chairperson on the role Senator Conway plays here in the Upper House. In his engagement at all times with me, as a Minister of State, on not just a single issue but a multitude of them, he is a strong and powerful advocate. I also want to wish him luck in his recent appointment to a position on a European board representing Ireland. I have no doubt but that he will fly the flag very well for persons with disabilities and Ireland. The Senator has asked three valid questions of me. It would be remiss of me not to address all three of them. I will use my time appropriately to do that.

He referred to transport and the challenges for persons with disabilities and how it is not just an urban issue but that there also is a real rural issue in this regard. When he mentioned there might be two or three services a day, I commented under my breath, "If you are lucky". It highlights the inequality for people who want to participate in education and employment. They cannot do so unless they have the tools to get to where they need to go.

We have fantastic proposals regarding transition planning out of education. Great work is going on with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, regarding the various skills levels within SOLAS to allow young people to transition. However, in the case of some people living in certain parts of rural Ireland who not have a transport mechanism, those opportunities may not come their way.

Yesterday, I met the Department of Transport, along with members of the national disability inclusion strategy, NDIS, to have a conversation on transport and Rural Link regarding expanding the service and ensuring it is inclusive. I must acknowledge the role of Rural Link. Its services are 93% accessible but at the same time, that is not available everywhere. We hope that will be something we will progress. We need to acknowledge the role of the Ombudsman's recent report in that regard.

The NCBI is doing wonderful work in terms of employment for the blind and visually impaired. I am aware of the Senator's recent advocacy. The Tánaiste attended a function with him in that regard. Employment for everybody, in particular persons with disabilities, is challenging. Progressive work is being done on the comprehensive employment strategy across all Departments to ensure that Departments and semi-State organisations understand the very basics about accommodation and support for people with disabilities.

I also wish to acknowledge the work the Tánaiste's office is doing on the strategy for digital hubs and ensuring that they are completely inclusive and that persons with disabilities can work close to home and break down barriers around transport. There is a lot of good work there.

The most important issue of the day is the optional protocol. The Senator asked for a timeframe. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and I are completely committed to it. The Government and I have always been mindful of the need to able to meet and honour the obligations arising from international commitments. The ratification of the optional protocol requires progress in key areas of legislation in order that Ireland can move closer to full compliance with the UNCRPD.

Fully commencing the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 is a priority for us in this regard. I sent the heads of a Bill to the on Tuesday. If the timeframe of enacting the legislation and having decision support services in place by June is met, I am looking at a parallel process to deliver on the optional protocol.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chair for his very kind comments and I thank the Minister of State for her very kind comments and good wishes.

Important legislation to facilitate the implementation of the protocol is to be passed by June. The key message is that the necessary legislation will be passed in 2022, which then means that we can implement the protocol in that year, which will be a good day's work. On this day, which is the day that recognises people with disabilities internationally, we have to recommit ourselves to the challenges. Access to transport is extremely important. It means people have the liberty and freedom to go places, do things, participate in leisure and access employment.The one equality issue in this country is access to work. If someone has access to work, they are in a position to earn money, pay taxes and live independently. That is what everybody in society aspires to and it should be available to people with disabilities as well. Anything the Government can do to facilitate people with disabilities accessing employment should be done. I thank the Minister for her genuine commitment in the work she does.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I would like again to underline the Government's commitment to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Much of the work for the year ahead will involve advancing the measures needed to implement the convention so that Ireland is in a position to ratify the optional protocol as soon as possible. As it is Disabilities Week and tomorrow is International Day of Disabilities, the Senator is right. The way out of poverty is through employment and education. Awareness, training, breaking down barriers and creating a society where we have equality is what the Government and the two Houses aspire to. I think sometimes for certain Departments, everything needs to be depoliticised. I refer to the area of disability being included in the new Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. We need to break down all the barriers to ensure progress is made at speed.