Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 September 2018
91. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the steps now required to ensure that the State meets the terms of the ratification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38036/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) following a cabinet decision on the 30th of January 2018. Following the passing of a resolution in the Dáil, the instrument of ratification was deposited with the UN on the 20th of March and the Convention came into force for Ireland on the 19th of April.
I was pleased to visit the UN on that date to mark the event and to participate in the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention in June 2018 to speak of Ireland’s progress in ratifying and implementing the Convention.
With ratification now in place, I am focusing on using the Convention to better equip and resource people with disabilities to improve their quality of life.
A number of implementation requirements for the Convention remain to be fulfilled. These include the enactment of the Disability Miscellaneous Provisions Bill containing the final legislative amendments required to bring Ireland fully into line with the terms of the Convention, and a standalone Bill being worked on by colleagues in the Department of Health to contain provisions on deprivation of liberty.
Work is ongoing on each and we hope that it will be possible to enact both by the end of the year. In addition, work is ongoing on the establishment and operation of the Decision Support Service (DSS) within the Mental Health Commission to facilitate the commencement of the Assisted Decision Making Capacity Act 2015.
