Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 January 2024
502. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when Ireland will ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. [2380/24]
View answerThe Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international treaty that establishes two procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. The first is an individual communications procedure allowing individuals to bring petitions to the Committee claiming breaches of their rights; the second is an inquiry procedure giving the Committee authority to undertake inquiries of grave or systematic violations of the Convention.
Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a commitment in the Programme for Government.
The timeline for ratifying the Optional Protocol was anticipated to follow the conclusion of Ireland’s first review period before the UN Committee. This has not taken place yet because of delays at UN level outside of Ireland’s control. Ireland submitted its first State Report in November 2021 and we continue to await a review date from the UN Committee.
In light of this, I am open to the earlier ratification of the Optional Protocol, subject to the state being in a position to meet the obligations that arise. I have already commenced the necessary scoping exercise to ascertain the requirements for ratifying the Optional Protocol at the earliest opportunity.
This scoping work is a procedurally necessary exercise in due diligence for the State to agree to any supra-national and quasi-judicial process, and is in keeping with the State’s long-standing position in relation to ratifying internationally binding treaties.
As a country that takes its international obligations extremely seriously and seeks to act in good faith on the international stage, Ireland does not enter into binding international treaties until we are confident that the obligations set out within can be complied with.
While an exact date for ratification of the Optional Protocol cannot be given at the moment, it is my priority to ensure that ratification takes place at the earliest possible date.
It is extremely important to note that ratification of the Optional Protocol is not a precondition to the implementation of the UNCRPD. Ireland fully ratified the UNCRPD in 2018 and the Government remains committed to continuously advancing the rights of persons with disabilities that it sets out.
Currently, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities monitors and evaluates Ireland’s implementation of the UNCRPD through examinations of periodic State Reports, and the State has and is continuing to make progress in the continuous advancement of rights under the Convention.
