Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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512. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the Government will publish the Action Plan on the Disability Capacity Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32493/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:

• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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513. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the needed investment in housing and required supports for disabled people as outlined in the Disability Capacity Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32494/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Health published the Disability Capacity Review in July 2021. This report set out the capacity requirements for health-funded disability services for the period up to 2032 and it is intended to address the capacity deficits in a phased approach over this period. This reflects the obligation under the UNCRPD for progressive implementation of social, cultural and economic rights.

Following the commitment in the 2020 Programme for Government to work towards implementing the findings, a Disability Action Plan Framework was published in July 2021 alongside the Terms of Reference for an interdepartmental Working Group to develop this Action Plan.

The Working Group has now completed its work and the draft Action Plan, which will be a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review and an implementation plan for the first phase, is currently being finalised for approval. As the plan is still being finalised, there is no date for publication at this time. This detailed Action Plan sets out the first phase of work to build the necessary capacity. This Action Plan aims to:

• build the capacity of disability support services to meet changing needs;
• improve timely access to services;
• do the groundwork to tackle constraints on the development of services;
• strengthen the focus on individualised services and supports to enable people with disabilities to live a life of their choosing in the community;
• begin the realignment of services to deliver better value with a particular focus on early intervention;

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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514. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to outline the Implementation Plan on UNCRPD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32495/23]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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519. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a report on the establishment of a UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities implementation plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32626/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 519 together.

The Programme for Government sets out the commitment to develop an implementation plan to coordinate implementation of Ireland’s commitments under the UNCRPD. With the conclusion of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) at the end of 2022, development of a successor strategy that also satisfies the Programme for Government commitment is underway.

Work to develop a new national disability strategy has been ongoing since 2021 in the context of the work of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group and with the input of the Disability Stakeholder Group. The development of the NDIS Successor Strategy is complex as it needs to provide the blueprint for further comprehensive realisation of the UNCRPD. It needs time at development stage in order to produce the best possible blueprint for UNCRPD realisation.

Both the focus of the new disability strategy and the implementation structure will be developed collaboratively across Government and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations, in line with the Convention itself and it's commitment to "nothing about us without us". In this regard, a comprehensive public consultation process to inform the new strategy is being developed by my Department, which will proceed along with more targeted consultations.

The new strategy will follow Ireland’s long-standing ‘mainstream-first’ approach to disability policy. This will require mature collaboration and sectoral leadership from across government and the wider public service.

Based on feedback to date on the successes and challenges of the NDIS, the new strategy is expected to be more explicitly focused on outcomes. It will also necessarily concentrate on a tighter and more targeted number of ambitious actions that will deliver the most significant change and progress. These will be identified in close collaboration with stakeholders.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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515. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress that is being made on ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UNCRPD; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32497/23]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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521. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeframe for the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UNCRPD; if there are any further issues that are holding up ratification of the Optional Protocol; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32628/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 521 together.

The Optional Protocol is an international treaty that establishes procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a commitment in the Programme for Government. The timeline for ratification was originally anticipated to follow the conclusion of Ireland’s first review period before the UN Committee. Due to delays at UN level, Ireland’s appearance before the Committee will now be delayed. Due to this delay, both Minister O'Gorman and I have indicated our support for earlier ratification of the Optional Protocol.

My Department is continuing to scope out the requirements for earlier ratification. This scoping work is required due to the long-standing position of the state in relation to honouring international agreements. As a matter of foreign policy, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out within can be complied with. As such, the ongoing scoping exercise is procedurally necessary.

While I had expected the scoping exercise to have been completed by Easter this year, the procurement of appropriate expert legal services to complete and conclude the exercise has been delayed. A tender for the necessary specialist services was issued in February of this year, but that process did not result in a suitable contract being awarded. My Department is now in the process of revising the approach to be taken but I can assure the Deputy that this is being addressed as a matter of urgency.

My Department is consulting with the Office of the Attorney General to identify appropriate legal expertise so that the scoping exercise can be completed at the earliest possible time. I am informed that the work will be complete in Quarter 4 of this year, should the procurement of expertise go to plan on this occasion.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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516. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of children on the Clare children's disability network team waiting list, by length of time, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32576/23]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As this refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.