Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 March 2021
711. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the disability participation and consultation network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16935/21]
View answerThe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities attaches priority to consulting people with disabilities and to encouraging their participation in the development of policy and legislation. The Disability Participation and Consultation Network was established in 2020 as a mechanism to ensure that people with a disability and their representative organisations will be involved in the development of policy and legislation.
The Network is made up of an Organising Member and four Grant Funded Members who play a central role in coordinating and organising the the work of the Network. The remaining membership of the Network is made up of organisations and indviduals with lived experience of disability.
While the Network is free to set its own agenda for engaging in particpation and consultation work, my Department requested that consultations on the draft initial State Report on the United Nations Convention on the RIghts of Persons with Disabilities be undertaken by the Network. Along with establishing its working practices and procedures, the Network has focused initially on the draft State Report. The Organising Member has run a series of consultation events for members on the draft State Report and the outcomes of those events will be reported to my Department. In addition, the Grant Funded Members have also been involved in consultations with their stakeholders on the draft State Report.
