24 Ean 2024, 10:14
The Joint Committee on Disability Matters has today, Wednesday January 24th, published its report entitled: Towards harmonisation of national legislation with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is transformative as it requires a state to apply the human rights principles from the UN Declaration on Human Rights to the situation of persons with disabilities.
The Convention calls the State to move beyond anti-discrimination legislation and harmonise all national laws with the obligations of the Convention. The Committee has a remit to monitor implementation of the Convention and progress of the drafting and initiation of required and relevant legislation.
The Committee held a series of public meetings and received several submissions on the harmonisation of legislation with the Convention which have informed this report. Ireland ratified the Convention in 2018 and has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol.
Speaking on the launch of the report, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Michael Moynihan said: “More action is needed by the State to mobilise cross sectoral actors and establish mechanisms to produce rights-based public policy and truly embed the rights of people with disabilities in Irish society. The Committee have collectively and actively advocated for the rights of people with disabilities, particularly regarding raising awareness and mainstreaming rights across Irish Society.
However, a lack of understanding of the Convention across public bodies and sectors, prevails.
The Committee continue to call for the ratification of the Optional Protocol which would support a more effective implementation of the Convention. The Committee has recommended that the State ratify the Optional Protocol before the end of the 33rd Dáil which is due to expire in 2025.”
“The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls on the State to move beyond anti-discrimination legislation and harmonise all national laws with the obligations of the Convention and ensure appropriate economic and social supports to achieve equal access, participation, and outcomes in all areas of service provision and employment, including independent needs assessment, services, advocacy, and redress. Ireland already has a well-developed infrastructure for mainstreaming human rights for people with disabilities.”
“The Disability Act 2005 provides the basis through the potential for the re-establishing sectoral planning, to ensure effective mainstreaming with the outcomes of the Convention, whether transport accessibility, Universal Designed housing, community inclusion, employment, or rights-based health.”
The report contains 142 recommendations on each relating to the 33 Articles of the Convention including children with disabilities, women with disabilities, personal mobility, access to justice, right to life and living independently.
“The Committee realise there is much work to be undertaken to improve the process of public consultation on legislation and policy in Ireland. All proposed legislation must be subject to public consultation before introduction in Irish Parliament, and fully inclusive and accessible to all. This is vital for a truly inclusive democracy. There is also considerable revisioning and mainstreaming of disability across health, housing, and community, to enable the outcomes of choice in independent living with adequate supports, if needed, for people with disabilities. A right to independent living, a Public Sector Inclusion Objective that places a duty on all public bodies with regard to Article 19 of the UNCRPD, and a National Accessibility Act with national targets for Ireland to become truly accessible, will begin to develop a culture of human rights for people with disabilities in Ireland,” Deputy Moynihan concluded.