A protest was held at the Dáil by Physical Impairment Ireland because the Irish government has refused to ratify the optional protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Disability activist, Bernard Mulvaney, was there and said,
“In 2007 the Irish government signed up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities but it would be 11 years before they would ratify it.
Then they decided not to ratify the optional protocol which would give
persons with disabilities (PWD) power to challenge the government when we are left
behind.
Abstaining from the optional protocol the Irish government removes the only mechanism
by which people with disabilities and long-term illness could hold the Irish state to
account for its failings towards them.
They promised persons with disabilities that the optional protocol would be ratified in
2020. This has not happened. This is unacceptable.
What this shows us is that government does not class people with disabilities as equals
in Irish society and that once again they prioritise money above people. They will claim
the delay is so that the legislation is robust. But we know it’s because the state is fully
aware of its failures. It is simply protecting itself from being held to account.
People Before Profit is calling for the immediate ratification of the
optional protocol. For too long now the Irish state has allowed poverty and hardship to
disproportionately affect this community and by their continued inaction they are actively
facilitating this poverty. Enough is Enough.”
