Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
323. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the way that her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit are implementing action 32 of the National Disability and Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 (details supplied). [38733/22]
View answerMy Department is implementing Action 32 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy through its Disability Consultative Committee (DCC), established under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 (NDIS). Membership of the Committee includes four representatives from the Disability Stakeholders’ Group, representation from the National Disability Authority, the National Council for Special Education as well as broad representation from across the Department including the Inspectorate.
Officials from my Department actively engage with our DCC stakeholder members both in the context of the DCC meetings but also outside of these as issues arise. At the start of each year, in consultation with our stakeholders the dates of the quarterly DCC meetings are agreed and fixed. In the planning of departmental DCC meetings, stakeholders are invited to submit topics of interest for in-depth discussion with relevant officials from aegis bodies and the Department. Over the last year, in-depth discussions have taken place on Teacher Education, ICT in schools and guidance in education from the perspective of persons with a disability.
The next DCC meeting will include a thematic focus on school buildings and the consideration of universal design principles in both new builds and retrofits. The meeting will include representatives of the Planning and Building Unit of the Department. Disability stakeholders have been invited to submit questions and topics for discussion under this theme, in advance of the meeting.
Finally, my Department is developing new guidance for engagement with stakeholders, including people with disabilities. In this regard, it has engaged with the NDA and will have regard to the new NDA guidance on consultation with people with disabilities, published last month, which has been circulated across the Department.
