Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2021
235. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which equality issues are being addressed with particular reference to persons of all ages with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29082/21]
View answerEquality issues are addressed in the policy initiatives taken forward by the Government on disability while policy on equality also integrates disability as a core element.
The National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) recognises that people with disabilities may have different needs depending on their ages. It includes actions, for instance, on education, specifically targeted at younger people with disabilities. It also includes actions specifically targeted at older people such as in relation to access to housing adaptation grant schemes.
The equality needs of people with disabilities are also taken into account in the national equality strategies. One of the aims of the National Strategy for Women and Girls, for instance, is to ensure that women with disabilities can participate fully in Irish society.
There is a linkage between policy on disability and equality in the work of the Equality Budgeting Working Group jointly chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department. Disability and gender are two of the strands of equality budgeting currently being advanced. Equality budgeting examines the impact of expenditure decisions on specific equality outcomes, including in relation to disability.
