Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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316. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the legislative changes necessary to ensure the ratification and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6627/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 21 October 2015, I published a roadmap to Ireland’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which outlines the considerable legislative changes to be undertaken to enable Ireland to ratify the Convention, along with the estimated deadline of end-2016 for ratification. The Roadmap to Ratification, which is available on my Department’s website, sets out the substantial legislative agenda required for ratification.

Considerable progress has already been made to overcome the barriers to Ireland’s ratification as identified in the Roadmap. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was signed into law on 30 December 2015, and is a comprehensive reform of the law on decision-making capacity. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 was passed by the Seanad on 26 January this year. When enacted, the Bill will reform Section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 to facilitate the full participation in family life of persons with intellectual disabilities and the full expression of their human rights. Achieving the necessary balance between those rights and ensuring appropriate protection is crucial.

Work is also under way on drawing up an Equality Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to progress miscellaneous legislative amendments necessary to proceed to ratification. It is intended that the Bill will address issues such as the Convention's requirements in relation to reasonable accommodation and deprivation of liberty, as well as removing archaic references in existing legislation relating to mental health. The Bill will also amend section 4 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 to provide that in particular circumstances, the District Court will have jurisdiction to determine whether the accused person is fit to be tried, and it will provide for national mechanisms to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the Convention.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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317. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the process of invigilation she will put in place to ensure the full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under Article 33 of the Convention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6628/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Work is under way on drawing up an Equality Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to progress miscellaneous legislative amendments necessary to proceed to ratification. The necessary legislative provisions to fulfil the requirements of Article 33 of the Convention will be included in the Bill, following consultations with relevant stakeholders.

The Department of Justice and Equality will be designated as the focal point within the Government. This is already in place at an administrative level. As indicated in the Government's roadmap to ratification, published in October 2015, the monitoring framework would include roles for both the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and the National Disability Authority (NDA). As the Independent Mechanism, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission would have the function to protect, promote and monitor the implementation of the Convention and to submit periodic independent reports to the UN. As Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, the IHREC fully meets the required standard of independence in accordance with the Paris Principles. The NDA’s function would involve preparing independent assessments of progress, including the compilation of statistical information, which would inform the periodic independent reports of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

There will also be an active role for civil society and disability stakeholders in the monitoring process. The IHREC is specifically mandated in section 18 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 to establish Advisory Committees and other methods of consultation with relevant agencies and with NGOs and other civil society interests. The Department of Justice and Equality also consults with the Disability Stakeholders Group. The group comprises both disability service users and disability service providers, and was set up to participate in monitoring and oversight of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy. In addition, the NDA can advise on effective ways to consult with people with disabilities and, if so requested, could also undertake consultation with people with disabilities to inform the reporting and monitoring process.

Taken together, these mechanisms provide a good basis for civil society to fully participate in the monitoring process, and consultation on the precise form of such involvement will continue.