FLAC welcomes the signing by the State of the Optional Protocol to ICESCR in 20121 but regrets that it has not yet ratified it.2 Furthermore, the process deemed necessary for ratification to occur, namely an inter-departmental consultation has yet to be established.
The State has also committed to ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which will afford greater protection to the ESC rights of people with disabilities.3 However, in order to comply with the provisions of the Convention the State must first enact the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 and complete a review of the Mental Health Act.4 An Interdepartmental Committee is working towards ratification of this Convention.5
FLAC urges the Committee to recommend that the State:
Incorporate the principles of ICESCR into domestic law, including the Constitution.
Ratify the Optional Protocol to ICESCR and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a matter of priority.
1 Department of Foreign Affairs, ‘Ireland to Sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant’, [press release], 6 March 2012.
2 Amnesty International Ireland (2014) Bringing ESC Rights Home: Ireland and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Dublin: Amnesty International Ireland, p.3.
3 Government of Ireland (2014) Universal Periodic Review – Ireland: National Interim Report, Dublin: Department of Justice and Equality, p.30.
4 Government of Ireland (2014) Universal Periodic Review – Ireland: National Interim Report, Dublin: Department of Justice and Equality, p.30.
5 Government of Ireland (2014) Universal Periodic Review – Ireland: National Interim Report, Dublin: Department of Justice and Equality, p.7.
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