Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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118. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the nature of the significant blockages or barriers to ratification and enactment of the 2007 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in view of the fact that there is no legal impediment to ratification from the United Nations perspective; the measures taken to address the putative barriers or blockages to date; when ratification can be expected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39886/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is a dualist State, Article 29.6 of the Constitution providing that international agreements have the force of law to the extent determined by the Oireachtas . It is essential therefore that the State is in a position to meet the obligations it assumes under the terms of an international agreement from the moment of its entry into force for Ireland. Before the State can ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, enactment of new legislation and amendment of existing legislation is required to ensure obligations will be met upon entry into force for Ireland. The previous Government published a Roadmap in October 2015, which sets out the legislative measures needed to meet those requirements, along with declarations and reservations to be entered by Ireland on ratification.

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 completed Committee Stage in the Dáil on 7 December. 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. 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 ratification of the Convention as early as possible.