Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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113. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide details of her plans following the public consultation stage on document (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54165/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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121. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason there was no co-production and co-design involved between her Department and disabled persons representative organisations and disability organisations in relation to the production of the Green Paper on Disability Reform and the subsequent consultation process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54158/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 113, 121 and 149 together.

The Government committed as part of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion to develop and consult on proposals to restructure long-term disability payments and to simplify the system. The proposals developed are set out in the Green Paper on Disability Reform. This was published on 20 September and marked the start of the consultation process.

My officials engaged with disability stakeholders, including Disabled Persons Organisations, prior to the launch to discuss and plan how to make the consultation process as accessible as possible. The Green Paper was published in plain English, easy-to-read and screen reader friendly formats. We are also accepting not just written submissions but also Irish Sign Language video submissions as a result of this engagement.

The Green Paper is a consultation document. It is not a final reform design. The Paper’s purpose is to invite discussion, debate and suggestions.

I am very mindful of our commitment under Article 4(3) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consult closely with and actively involve disabled people and their representative groups on changes that will impact them.

I can assure the Deputy that all feedback on the Green Paper proposals will be considered in any future reforms of the system. That is the purpose of the consultation process. My officials have held a stakeholder event and four public consultation events over the last two months. I want to hear from as many disabled people and their representatives as possible. For this reason, I have extended the closing date for the consultation until the 15th March 2024. This was in response to a number of requests for an extension and to allow individuals, Disabled Persons Organisations and disability groups time to compose their submission. I am open to all ideas and suggestions and I encourage everybody with an interest in improving the lives of people with disabilities to engage in the consultation process.

My department has received 212 submissions to date; 190 from individuals and a further 22 from Disabled Persons’ Organisations and disability groups.

Following the close of the public consultation, the feedback from these submissions and the public consultation events will be reviewed, analysed and considered. They will then inform the final proposal to Government. I engaged in similar consultations on pay-related benefit and pensions auto-enrolment which led to the revision of some key features. The same will apply here.

The Deputy will understand that it is not possible to commit to a timeline for this part of the process at this point, as it will depend on the submissions received in the coming months, which will then need to be analysed carefully.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.