Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2009
197 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the membership of the senior group on disability which is chaired by his Department; the number of times the group has met; the decisions taken; the work produced by this group since it was established; the responsibilities of his Department in chairing the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44065/09]
View answer198 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the membership of the national disability stakeholder monitoring group which is chaired by his Department; the number of times the group has met; the decisions taken; the work produced by this group since it was established; the responsibilities of his Department in chairing the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44066/09]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 197 and 198 together.
The membership of the Senior Officials Group on Disability comprises the Departments of the Taoiseach; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Finance; Health and Children; Transport; Justice, Equality and Law Reform; Social and Family Affairs; Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; and Education and Science. This group has met 14 times and the most recent meeting was held on 29 September 2009.
The membership of the National Disability Strategy Stakeholder Monitoring Group comprises the Senior Officials Group on Disability, a number of stakeholder groups (Disability Federation of Ireland, People with Disabilities in Ireland, Irish Mental Health Coalition, The Not for Profit Business Association and National Federation of Voluntary Bodies Providing Services to People with Intellectual Disability), the National Disability Authority, ICTU and IBEC. This group has met 6 times and the most recent meeting was held on 5 October 2009.
The Department of the Taoiseach has responsibility for chairing the meetings of the two groups and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform provides the secretariat.
Both groups are responsible for monitoring the implementation of the National Disability Strategy. Reports, based on updates from the relevant Government Departments, are prepared by the Senior Officials Group twice a year and these are presented at the National Disability Strategy Stakeholder Monitoring Group meetings. Both groups adopted the Towards 2016 Strategic Document outlining the vision, mission and strategic objectives of the National Disability Strategy which was published, in accordance with the commitment in Towards 2016,on 27 May 2009.
