New Disability Advisory Committee appoints four Trinity alumni/staff

Posted on: 28 January 2019

Ireland’s first statutory advisory committee to support monitoring of Ireland’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was inaugurated today.

Four of the eleven new appointees to the Disability Advisory Committee are Trinity alumni and staff; John Bosco Conama (Director of the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin), Vivian Rath (PhD Researcher, Trinity College Dublin), Rosaleen McDonagh (MPhil, Trinity College Dublin and PhD candidate, Northumbria University) & Jacqui Browne (Trinity graduate and disability equality activist).

Over 13% or over 643,000 people in Ireland have a disability, according to the 2016 Census. Research published recently by the Commission with the ESRI has shown that people with disabilities continue to experience higher levels of discrimination compared to those without.

 “The question of how Ireland meets its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities must be put in the spotlight.  This new Disability Advisory Committee will be an important mechanism to ensure that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission can fulfil its mandate to hold the State to account on the rights of people with disabilities,” explained Emily Logan, Chief Commissioner of the IHREC.

“The Members of the Disability Advisory Committee bring with them significant personal and professional experience, and wide expertise in relation to the rights of persons with disabilities in Ireland.”

The members are appointed to their roles by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) for a three-year term and come after an open competitive process. The Disability Advisory Committee, made up of a majority of people with disabilities is brought together by the IHREC to support its statutory function under Article 33 to monitor Ireland’s implementation of the UNCRPD by independent mechanism.

The UNCRPD is a human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations in 2006 which exists to protect and reaffirm the human rights of disabled people. The Irish Government signed the Convention in 2007 and in March 2018 the Convention was ratified.

For more information on the members of the Disability Advisory Committee please see their profiles on the ihrec.ie website