John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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1110. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will ensure that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is formally considered by the Cabinet Committee on Disability, in order that people with IBD are included in national discussions on disability rights and supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49048/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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While eligibility criteria for different schemes and supports offered by the state can differ, in broad terms we do not define disability by way of reference to individualised impairments or medicalised diagnoses.

The Disability Act 2005 interprets disability as meaning a “substantial restriction in the capacity of the person to carry on a profession, business or occupation in the State or to participate in social or cultural life in the State by reason of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual disability”.

This definition takes a broadly functional approach to disability, recognising that an individual's specific circumstances, societal barriers, and medical history will all have an impact on the extent to which a person is or is not "disabled".

This is in line with the social model approach to disability set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It also provides a more flexible definition to practitioners where specialised health needs arise that is not tied to a prescriptive list of conditions - which runs the risk of inadvertently excluding people from recognition or supports.

I am in regular engagement with my Cabinet colleagues in considering an array of issues as they relate to disabled people, however specific issues relating to Irritable Bowel Disease policy lie outside of my Department’s remit and fall instead under the remit of the Department of Health. Entitlements and eligibility related to Disability Allowance are the remit of the Department of Social Protection.

With regard to broader disability policy, the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 was launched on the 3rd of September, 2025. It is Ireland’s comprehensive plan to advance the realisation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, setting out a whole of government approach to disability over the next five years.

The commitments within the Strategy and the monitoring and implementation structures to support them were developed through a large scale national public consultation and close co-design with disability stakeholders, ensuring the resulting strategy will make meaningful, transformative progress.

To ensure the commitments outlined in the Strategy are met, robust delivery and monitoring structures ensure oversight and accountability throughout the lifetime of the Strategy, with a strong focus on collaboration and active problem solving, reflecting a transformative step-change in delivery of disability policy.

At the highest level, the Cabinet Committee on Disability is responsible for overseeing the delivery of actions and commitments contained within the Strategy, and all groups responsible for delivery will be accountable to this Cabinet Committee.