Local disability groups welcome news that Irish government will now ratify UN convention

Local disability groups are welcoming news that the Irish government are finally to ratify a UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

Ireland is the only country in the European Union which hasn’t yet ratified it.

The announcement by Minister Finian McGrath that a resolution on the matter will now be brought to the Dáil is being described as a ‘watershed’ moment.

Carlow Support Officer with the Disability Federation of Ireland, PJ Cleere told KCLR News there are still elements that will need to be properly defined.

And he says this convention doesn’t confer any new rights for people, it simply underpins the rights they are already supposed to have.