Written answers

Thursday, 9 September 2021

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Rights of People with Disabilities

Photo of Richard O'DonoghueRichard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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752. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the slow pace of progress in achieving disability rights in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41914/21]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland currently has two whole-of-government strategies in place, the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (now extended until the end of 2022) and the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities, 2015-2024.  

These are the key frameworks for policy and action to address the needs of persons with disabilities in Ireland and to improve their lives in a practical sense.  My Department coordinates these two strategies and my colleague, Minister of State Anne Rabbitte, chairs the NDIS Steering Group.   

In addition, Ireland is also party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), having ratified it in 2018. This marked an important milestone in a process to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities in Ireland that has gathered momentum since Ireland became a signatory to the Convention in 2007.  The current model for meeting the obligations of the UNCRPD is through delivery of the two national strategies. 

My Department is working on the development of a UNCRPD Implementation Plan, which is a Programme for Government commitment. A concept paper setting out a pathway to designing the Implementation Plan and the core principles that will underline the Implementation Plan was presented to the NDIS Steering Group in June this year.   The concept paper will be discussed further at the upcoming NDIS Steering Group meeting with a view to submitting a final Implementation Plan to Government early next year.

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