The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability was formally adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006. Ireland was in the first group of countries to sign, subject to ratification of the UN Convention when it became open for signature on 31 March 2007. A high-level cross Departmental working group was established in 2007 under the auspices of the then Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to advise on any changes to the National Disability Strategy that might be required Government’s to enable the State to ratify the Convention. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport participated in the work of the group as Articles 9 and 20 of the Convention relate, among other things, to requirements for accessible public transport the relevant text is reproduced in Appendix 3. The consequential – implementation responsibilities falling onto the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport are being advanced in the context of Transport Access for All. However, some responsibilities under Articles 9 and 20 of the Convention require measures that extend beyond the scope of this Sectoral Plan. The transport provisions of Article 9 have been progressed in the context of the Public Transport Regulation Act of 2009. The 2009 Act came into force since the last Sectoral Plan review. It provides a new statutory basis for the licensing of public bus passenger services. The 2009 Act allows the National Transport Authority to attach minimum accessibility standards as a condition for the granting, amending or renewing of licences for public bus passenger services. This is a significant improvement on the previous legislation which dated from 1932. Article 20 of the UN Convention deals with personal mobility, a concept that extends well beyond the reach of public transport. However, possibilities for integration with school transport, transport for health care and door to door transport are being explored as part of on-going work on improving the integration of local and rural transport services. Section 2: The Review Process
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability was formally adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 2006. Ireland was in the first group of countries to sign, subject to ratification of the UN Convention when it became open for signature on 31 March 2007. A high-level cross Departmental working group was established in 2007 under the auspices of the then Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to advise on any changes to the Government’s National Disability Strategy that might be required to enable the State to ratify the Convention. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport participated in the work of the group as Articles 9 and 20 of the Convention relate, among other things, to requirements for accessible public transport – the relevant text is reproduced in Appendix 3. The consequential implementation responsibilities falling onto the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport are being advanced in the context of Transport Access for All. However, some responsibilities under Articles 9 and 20 of the Convention require measures that extend beyond the scope of this Sectoral Plan. The transport provisions of Article 9 have been progressed in the context of the Public Transport Regulation Act of 2009. The 2009 Act came into force since the last Sectoral Plan review. It provides a new statutory basis for the licensing of public bus passenger services. The 2009 Act allows the National Transport Authority to attach minimum accessibility standards as a condition for the granting, amending or renewing of licences for public bus passenger services. This is a significant improvement on the previous legislation which dated from 1932. Article 20 of the UN Convention deals with personal mobility, a concept that extends well beyond the reach of public transport. However, possibilities for integration with school transport, transport for health care and door to door transport are being explored as part of on-going work on improving the integration of local and rural transport services. Section 2: The Review Process
final-english-version-december-2012.docx