Bill to overcome barriers to ratifying disability convention nearly drafted

Ireland has nearly overcome the legislative barriers to ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told TDs that a bill to overcome the final legislative barriers to ratifying the Convention, which was signed by Ireland in 2007, is at the final stages of drafting.

Speaking in the Dáil, Ms Fitzgerald said: “Considerable progress has already been made to overcome the remaining legislative barriers to Ireland’s ratification of the Convention.

“The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was signed into law on 30 December 2015 and is a comprehensive reform of the law on decision-making capacity.

“The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 completed Committee Stage in the Dáil on 7 December. When enacted, the Bill will reform Section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 to facilitate the full participation in family life of persons with intellectual disabilities and the full expression of their human rights.

“Achieving the necessary balance between those rights and ensuring appropriate protection is crucial.”

She added: “Work is underway on drawing up the Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to progress miscellaneous legislative amendments necessary to proceed to ratification.

“The Bill will address issues such as the Convention’s requirements in relation to reasonable accommodation and deprivation of liberty.

“The General Scheme of the Equality/Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is available on the Department of Justice and Equality website. The Bill is at the final stages of drafting and I expect the Bill to be published very shortly so as to facilitate ratification of the Convention as early as possible.”