Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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84. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in view of the commitment made by the Minister of State with special responsibility for disabilities in May 2016 that the convention would be ratified within six months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37450/16]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Considerable progress has already been made to overcome the remaining legislative barriers to Ireland's ratification of the Convention. 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 commenced its second stage reading in the Dáil on 5 October. 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 underway on drawing up the 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 General Scheme of the Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is available on the Department's website. The Bill is at the final stages of drafting and while I am not in a position to give an exact date, I expect the Bill to be published very shortly so as to facilitate early ratification of the Convention.