Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is not currently in receipt of EU funding in relation to disability services. I am conscious of the opportunities provided via EU funding streams and my Department is mindful of available funding streams as we look to coordinate action across government and develop and progress the next National Disability Strategy.

In that context, it is worth noting that EU funding streams have been used by other departments who have more direct responsibility for employment issues, such as the Work Ability programme administered by the Department of Social Protection.

The National Disability Inclusion Strategy which served as Ireland's implementation plan for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) lapsed at the end of 2022. Officials in my Department are developing, together with the input of people with disabilities and their representative organisations, the next National Disability Strategy to be delivered later this year.

The new National Disability Strategy will provide a blueprint, developed in partnership with disabled people, for an ambitious programme of work to coordinate continued implementation of the UNCRPD in Ireland and to further support the rights and inclusion of disabled people.

I very much look forward to launching this strategy later this year and working with colleagues in the EU to examine potential EU funding for disability projects which can be availed of by people with disabilities in Ireland.