Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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81. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the actions required before ratification will take place; the steps she is taking to address the delay; and the timeframe she is working to. [39430/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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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 passed Committee Stage in the Dáil on 7 December 2016. 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 under way on drawing up the Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to progress miscellaneous legislative amendments necessary to proceed to ratification. The Bill will address issues such as the Convention's requirements in relation to reasonable accommodation and deprivation of liberty. The General Scheme of the Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is available on the Department of Justice and Equality 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.