merrion street

Seanad Commencement Matter

Senator John Dolan - The need for the Minister of State with special responsibility for Disability Issues to confirm that work is underway across all Government Departments and Public Bodies to ensure that implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and it Optional Protocol will commence immediately upon its ratification, to confirm that ratification will be undertaken before end December 2016 and that preparation for Budget 2017 includes resourcing to progress implementation.

Reply by Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality
with special responsibility for Disability Issues Finian McGrath TD

My thanks to Senator Dolan for raising this very important topic. I am delighted to have the opportunity to address the issue of Ireland’s ratification of the Convention the UN CRPD and provide an update on the work underway to meet our ratification targets.
The Roadmap to Ratification published by the previous Government last October detailed all the remaining legislative barriers to ratification and the work that would be undertaken to overcome them. It also set out a clear timeframe, and I can confirm that we are on track to achieve our target of ratification of both the Convention and its Optional Protocol by the end of this year.
Much has been achieved already on overcoming the obstacles to ratification outlined in the Roadmap with the enactment of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and the amendments to the Mental Health Act 2001 which removed the authority to administer Electro-Convulsive Therapy or medicine (after a 3-month period) to an involuntary patient with capacity who is unwilling to consent to the treatment.
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 was passed by the Seanad on 26 January this year. When enacted, the Bill will reform Section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 to facilitate the full participation in family life of persons with intellectual disabilities and the full expression of their human rights. Achieving the necessary balance between those rights and ensuring appropriate protection is crucial.
Work is also underway on drawing up an Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to progress the outstanding miscellaneous legislative amendments necessary to proceed to ratification. The Bill will address issues such as the Convention's requirements in relation to reasonable accommodation and deprivation of liberty, as well as removing archaic references in existing legislation relating to mental health. We have recently presented the General Scheme of the Bill to the Oireachtas for pre-legislative scrutiny.
To address Senator Dolan’s point about resources for implementation, let me be clear: we need more resources for disability and this Government will deliver on that. My priorities are clear. Underlining this Government's commitment to the disability sector, I recently announced the provision of additional funding of €31m for disability services in 2016. This includes funding of €3m for new initiatives, including an additional provision for services to meet the need of school leavers with disabilities and the anticipated cost of a number of emergency residential placements arising this year. However, ratification of the Convention is a separate issue which is not contingent on resources and does not require additional funding. When we ratify the Convention by the end of this year we will be making a solemn commitment to the international community that our body of domestic legislation is fully in line with the Convention and fully meets the standards required of the Convention.
Issues around the allocation of resources will always to subject to debate and are a matter for the individual Departments involved. Service standards and funding are subject to what the Convention describes as ‘progressive realisation’ and are subject to the budgetary decisions of the Government of the day. The Programme for Government sets out a range of commitments to improve the lives of people with disabilities. The Government supports an increase in Disability Benefit & Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Allowance, and Blind Person’s Pension. Legislation is being drafted to introduce a new mobility scheme and the Government supports further increases in the Housing Adaption grants. Work will continue on moving people with disabilities living in congregated settings to live independently.