Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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340. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the work of the Inter-Departmental Group on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the timeline the Inter-Departmental Group is working towards in reporting back to Government; the number and dates of meetings already held by the group; the status of his Department’s scoping exercise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26849/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is a commitment in the Programme for Government, and I remain committed to ratification at the earliest possible date.Ireland ratified the UNCRPD on 20 March 2018 and continues to implement the Convention on the basis of the continuous advancement of rights. Ireland has also engaged fully in the monitoring and accountability processes set out in the Convention, having submitted its first state report to the Committee in November of 2021. We now await a review date before the Committee in Geneva. Ireland has also placed IHREC's role as the national independent monitoring body for the UNCRPD on a statutory basis.In terms of the Optional Protocol, there is a 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 can be complied with. As such, the ongoing scoping exercise is procedurally necessary.The scoping exercise on ratification is well advanced and will serve to ensure that the implications arising in respect of meeting the obligations under the Optional Protocol are identified. In that regard I have established an Inter-Departmental Group, chaired by my Department, with representatives from all government departments and the Office of the Attorney General, to ensure that a comprehensive, whole-of-Government approach is taken to ensuring that the necessary enabling work to provide for the ratification of the Optional Protocol is identified and can be completed, and so that ratification can proceed as quickly as possible.The Inter-Departmental Group has met on three occasions to date- on 19th April, on 16th May, and its most recent meeting took place on 20th June. The work of the IDG in bringing a renewed focus to the necessary enabling work to provide for the ratification of the Optional Protocol is well advanced. I intend to provide an update to my cabinet colleagues on the progress of the IDG and its work on ratification of the Optional Protocol in July.