Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
746. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline in relation to commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as to the implementation of the several pieces of legislation relating to persons with disabilities which have not yet been implemented in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41617/21]
View answer750. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are several pieces of legislation which have not been fully implemented in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (details supplied); if he will share his proposal to ensure that the Government honours its commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41819/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 746 and 750 together.
Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2018. This marked an important milestone in a process to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities in Ireland that has gathered momentum since Ireland became a signatory to the Convention in 2007.
Our approach to meeting the obligations of the UNCRPD is one of progressive realisation, each year moving forward on key reforms, with the obligations arising from the Convention being met over time. Initial priority has been given to meeting legislative commitments.
One of the key pieces of legislation to be progressed is the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 which is the responsibility of my Department and a commitment under the Programme for Government.
This is a very important piece of legislation that changes the existing law on capacity from the status approach of the wardship system to a flexible functional approach, whereby capacity is assessed on an issue and time-specific basis. It will abolish the wards of court system for adults by repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871. We are working towards a date of June 2022 for full commencement.
Amendments are required to the 2015 Act before full commencement can take place. Work is actively taking place on an Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill, which is expected to be published by year-end and enacted early next year. The amendments will streamline processes, in the interests of those using its provisions. They will also strengthen the safeguards included in the 2015 Act.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill is also being used to advance a number of other legislative provisions required by the UNCRPD. These provisions were previously contained in the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which lapsed with the dissolution of the last Dáil, and include measures such as the role to be played by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the National Disability Authority in monitoring the implementation of the UNCRPD.
