Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
541. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) Implementation Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29659/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra548. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the UNCRPD Implementation Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29721/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 541 and 548 together.
The Programme for Government sets out the commitment to develop an implementation plan to coordinate implementation of Ireland’s commitments under the UNCRPD. With the conclusion of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) at the end of 2022, development of a successor strategy that also satisfies the Programme for Government commitment is underway.
Work to develop a new national disability strategy has been ongoing in my Department since 2021. The development of the NDIS Successor Strategy is complex as it needs to provide the blueprint for further comprehensive realisation of the UNCRPD. It needs time at development stage in order to produce the best possible blueprint for UNCRPD realisation.
Both the focus of the new disability strategy and the implementation structure will be developed collaboratively across Government and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations, in line with the Convention itself and it's commitment to "nothing about us without us". In this regard, a comprehensive public consultation process to inform the new strategy is being developed by my Department, which will proceed along with more targeted consultations.
The new strategy will follow Ireland’s long-standing ‘mainstream-first’ approach to disability policy. This will require mature collaboration and sectoral leadership from across government and the wider public service.
Based on feedback to date on the successes and challenges of the NDIS, the new strategy is expected to be more explicitly focused on outcomes. It will also necessarily concentrate on a tighter and more targeted number of ambitious actions that will deliver the most significant change and progress. These will be identified in close collaboration with stakeholders.
