Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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345. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he and his Department continue to liaise with disability groups with a view to ensuring fair and equal treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5755/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2018 and continues to progressively realise its obligations under the Convention.

The UNCRPD requires State parties to actively involve people with disabilities in policy development (Articles 4.3 and 33.3).

As a first step towards full implementation of UNCRPD requirements on consultation, my Department has begun the process of building and supporting the consultation framework for involving people with disabilities in the policy development process.

My Department has funded the development of a Disability Participation and Consultation Network to build capacity within the disability community so that people with disabilities and their representative organisations can fully participate in policy-making.The Network was formed in late 2020 and has been funded to continue its work in 2021 and 2022.

The Network has over 100 members with funding provided to an organising member and four grant funded members. Members include disability organisations, disabled people's organisations (DPOs), individuals with disabilities and family members and support groups. They represent a wide and diverse set of experiences of disabilities which ensures a huge amount of knowledge and experience is available.

The Network is not the only means by which my Department seeks to fulfil its UNCPRD obligations. My Department has the coordinating role in respect of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, the steering group of which is chaired by my colleague Minister Anne Rabbitte T.D.. Incorporated into this structure is the Disability Stakeholder Group, which provides independent monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy. It is a voluntary group of 26 individuals with expertise and lived experience of disability. Members include DPOs, representatives from disability organisations, alongside individuals, persons with lived experience, family members and academics. The current iteration of the DSG (DSG 6) commenced this year following an expression of interest for members last Summer.

In addition to these two more formal consultation groups, my Department also seeks to use wider public consultation through submissions, surveys and online and in person workshops to ensure that as many views from disability groups and stakeholders are collated and incorporated into policy developments.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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346. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which he and his Department continue to pursue issues of inequality in the context of access to services for persons with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5756/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education. The Acts cover nine grounds of equality, including that of disability. In addition, the Acts prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation services against people who are in receipt of rent supplement, housing assistance, or social welfare payments.

Where an individual considers that they have been discriminated against based on one of the named grounds, it is open to them to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

My Department conducted a consultation seeking the public’s views on a review of the Equality Acts (Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 and the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015), which ran from July to December last year. The review will examine the functioning of the Acts and their effectiveness in combatting discrimination and promoting equality, including in relation to disability.

This Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives. Our determination to improve services and supports for people with disabilities and their families is clear in our Programme for Government. My colleague at the Department of Health, Minister Donnelly, secured an additional package of €115m in Budget 2022 (including €10m one-off Covid funding for specialist community-based disability services which are delivered or funded by the HSE, and builds on the €100m funding allocated in 2021 to enhance these specialist disability services.

The Disability Capacity Review to 2032 sets out the Disability Social Care Demand and Capacity Requirements up to 2032. This review has carefully drawn on best available evidence and information to estimate the scale of current outstanding need for HSE-funded disability services, and how the scale and shape of need is likely to evolve over the years to 2032.

Work is underway on preparing an Action Plan for Disability Services 2022-2025, in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to work towards implementing the Disability Capacity Review.