Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
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526. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason two organisations (details supplied) have been and continue to be excluded from the DPO Consultative Framework since October 2023; if this indirect discrimination will be remedied as a matter of urgency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26760/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Government is committed to implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as ratified by Ireland in 2018. This includes a commitment to Article 4(3) which stipulates that State Parties shall closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities through their representative organisations in policy making and implementation. It also encompasses a commitment to Article 29 which “guarantees to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others” and obliges States to “promote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, and encourage their participation in public affairs, including:

(i) Participation in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country, and in the activities and administration of political parties;

(ii) Forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities to represent persons with disabilities at international, national, regional and local levels.

Government is also committed to the implementation of Article 33(3) mandating that: “Civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, shall be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process.”

I reject entirely the suggestion that any individual or group, DPO or otherwise, impairment based or otherwise, has experienced indirect discrimination, or any other form of discrimination, by being excluded from disability stakeholder consultations undertaken by my department.

I understand that the organisations referenced by the Deputy were members of a previous configuration of a DPO umbrella grouping representing a number of the more established DPOs in the state. The membership of that umbrella group chose itself, and with no involvement from the state, to disband and reform independent of the organisations referenced by the Deputy. I understand from the Deputy's question that it is the renewed configuration of this umbrella group that the Deputy raises as being engaged in a consultative arrangement with my Department. The membership of this group remains a matter for the decision making processes of the organisations involved and it is not appropriate for my department to seek to dictate who individual and independent civil society organisations do or do not seek to form networks, groupings, or umbrella organisations with.

Both organisations referenced by the Deputy were directly invited to participate in and contribute to an extensive national formal consultation process organised by my Department. The process was a genuinely and categorically participative process open to all individuals and groups and both referenced organisations did, in fact, actively participate in that process on a number of occasions.

The two organisations indicated by the Deputy were automatically included in this consultation process as a matter of course. Both organisations were invited to several town hall events, with open access to more than 30 focus groups led by the National Disability Authority and both received an invitation to participate in a national survey. Both were invited to a key stakeholder event in the summer of last year on the development of the Strategy. Both participated in early scoping engagements in the summer and Autumn of 2022 on development of the strategy and the setting of priorities. The two organisations in question were also engaged at a trilateral meeting with the Department in December 2023 and, where appropriate to their various memberships on representative groups, have been engaged as part of broader consultation with, for example, the Disability Stakeholder Group and the Disability Participation and Consultation Network, during the period when those Groups were in situ. In addition to this, any submissions received by my Department in relation to the development of the National Disability Strategy from these organisations have been duly considered on an equal basis to any and all submissions received from DPOs.

Currently under consideration by my Department is the development of robust and comprehensive structures that will provide for effective disability stakeholders’ input and engagement under the National Disability Strategy, in line with obligations under Article 4(3), Article 29(b) and Article 33(3) of the UNCRPD. Consultation on these structures includes seeking out the perspectives of all key stakeholders as a matter of course.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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527. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the actions taken in response to the HIQA report published on 25 February 2025, regarding an organisation (details supplied) which identified serious safeguarding and governance concerns across multiple centres; the steps that have been implemented to address the identified non-compliances and protect vulnerable residents, including reference to the Health Act 2007 governing HIQA’s regulatory remit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26820/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly as soon as possible.