"Advancing the National Disability Strategy: Building on Comparative and
International Innovation"
Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUIG
10 December 2010
Statement on behalf of John Moloney, T.D.
Minister for Disability and Mental Health
I would like to offer my sincere apologies as unfortunately I am not in a position to be
with you today, but I thank the Centre for Disability and Policy Law, and Dr. Eilionóir
Flynn in particular, for the opportunity to have this statement read on my behalf.
I am sure today you will hear much about Ireland's National Disability Strategy, so I
will not go into detail on its many policies and actions. But, I do want to assure you
all of the Government's continuing and committed support to that strategy. Even in
recent years, when economic difficulties began to bite, the level of exchequer
funding allocated to disability increased annually from 2007 to 2010. There is no
shying away from the extreme difficulties of our current exchequer situation, but we
remain committed to progressing the National Strategy and to doing the very best we
can in providing for the sector and in ensuring that the funding that can be made
available in the coming years is spent in the wisest and most efficient way possible.
In terms of the National Strategy and improvements it can produce for people with
disabilities, amongst the developments due in the months ahead, we will be seeing
employment and housing strategies and the results of a policy and value for money
review of the Department of Health and Children's spending on disability.
The progression of the National Strategy is being achieved in consultation and cooperation with the disability sector, in particular with stakeholder organisations and
the National Disability Authority. Indeed, the NDA is currently developing, at my
request, an action programme to set and measure future progress on the strategy
directly against the five high level goals for disability established in "Towards 2016",
the national partnership agreement.
It is my experience and that of Departmental officials dealing with the sector who
have had recourse to the strategies and experiences of other European countries,
that our National Disability Strategy has very good structures in place for both its
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implementation and that of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (UNCRPD).
The UNCRPD is of course a ground-breaking Convention in many ways and it
clearly provides the framework for improving the lives of people with disabilities. I
would like to take this opportunity to clarify Ireland's position on it. We were in the
first group of countries to sign the Convention and we remain totally committed to its
implementation. Even more relevant to today's event is the fact that it is our own
National Disability Strategy, and the services and facilities it provides, that currently
implements many of the provisions of the Convention.
It is important to point out that the State does not generally ratify a treaty until it is
first in a position to comply legally with the obligations imposed by that treaty,
including by amending domestic law as necessary.
An Inter-Departmental Committee, chaired by the Department of Community,
Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, monitors the remaining legislative and administrative
actions required to enable us to formally ratify the Convention, outside of what is
already being achieved in the National Disability Strategy. This committee has
developed a programme on which work is progressing to address such issues. You
can rest assured that Ireland will ratify as soon as the necessary legislative
amendments have been completed.
Ultimately, it is the actual implementation of the UNCRPD that is the most important
factor and we believe our policy on the Convention is the correct one. International
evidence shows that a number of other countries which decided to ratify first and
then deal with the implications for their legislation and policies, are having difficulties
in successfully implementing the Convention, e.g. of the 44 countries which ratified
and by now are required to have reported to the UN's monitoring committee on the
implementation of the Convention, only 6 have been able to do so.
I am satisfied that we, on the other hand, when we have everything in place and do
ratify, will already be well along the road towards full implementation of the
Convention thanks to the ongoing developments arising out of our National Disability
Strategy.
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I would like to thank everyone in the disability sector for their contribution to the work
being done. I am deeply appreciative of the contribution the many stakeholders
have made, and continue to make, in assisting Ministers and Government
Departments to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
Again, my apologies for not being with you today. I congratulate the CDLP for
organising such an innovative event. It is a tribute to the Centre, and particularly to
its Director, world-renowned expert on the UNCRPD, Professor Gerard Quinn, that it
has assembled such a wealth of national and international knowledge and
experience.
I wish you all a very successful and informative day.
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