Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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62. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment given that Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities five years ago, his plans for providing that disabled persons organisations, DPOs, are prioritised in consultations and monitoring regarding the sustainable development goals, as advised by the UN Committee Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in general comment No. 7, paragraphs 9, 32, 92, and 94 (r). [15644/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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People with disabilities are recognised as relevant stakeholders for sustainable development by the United Nations under resolution 67/290 and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets are to be met for all people.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is responsible for co-ordinating disability policy across Government and acts as the national focal point for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

My Department is responsible for overseeing the coherent implementation of the SDGs across Government, including through the development of National Implementation Plans and reporting frameworks.

To achieve a disability-inclusive society, it is important that the SDGs are implemented in line with the UNCRPD and that the two are used together.

In order to promote greater engagement of disabled people with the SDG national stakeholder engagement mechanisms, information and advertisement of events, including the SDG National Stakeholder Forum and the SDG Champion’s Programme, are circulated in accessible formats among Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs) and other relevant organisations.

In addition, a nomination from DPOs was sought for the new SDG Forum Committee established in Q4 2022 to input into the design, format and work programme of the SDG National Stakeholder Forum.

The objective of my Department and the new Forum Committee is to ensure that the format of Forum meetings is as inclusive and accessible as possible for all participants.

At the January 2023 SDG National Stakeholder Forum meeting - which focused on the principle of Leaving No One Behind -a number of steps were taken to promote better accessibility and inclusivity, including:

- The event was promoted using plain English. It was also made clear in the promotional material that everyone was welcome and specific harder-to-reach organisations and groups were directly invited.

- The event was held as a hybrid session which could be attended online or in-person.

- A sign-language interpreter was interpreting on stage and on screen.

- PowerPoint Slides and materials used at the event were made available in advance of the meeting upon request.

- The venue was fully wheelchair accessible and clear signage for facilities was on display.

- Verbal accessibility instructions were given at the beginning of the meeting and an accessibility officer was on hand for any questions or issues which arose during the day.

- A quiet room was available at all times and attendees were invited to participate in the workshops or to take time to reflect on the day and its theme individually.

Feedback from the event was that the addition of live transcription would also help participation and this recommendation has been incorporated into the plans for the April SDG National Stakeholder Forum meeting which will focus on Ireland’s 2023 Voluntary National Review.