From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, yesterday attended a French EU Presidency Ministerial Conference in Paris on the theme of ‘European Action towards Persons with Disabilities’.
In the context of the recently adopted EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, Minister Rabbitte took part in discussions with Ministers from other EU member States on accessibility, mobility, employment and education for people with disabilities in Ireland and across the EU.
Minister Rabbitte also highlighted to her European counterparts the Irish Government’s commitment to people with autism and the priority being placed on the development of the Autism Innovation Strategy in the context of the specific focus of the conference on the development of a European perspective on research into autism.
Reflecting on Ireland’s support for people with disabilities in a European context, Minister Rabbitte said:
“We are making good progress in Ireland to progressively realise the rights of all people with disabilities. Of course, like all EU Member States, we still have work to do. In particular, I look forward to making progress this year in relation to personal mobility supports for people with disabilities and to achieving further progress under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy to support people with disabilities who can work and who want to work to do so.
“Ministers across the EU were very interested to learn about the steps that we are taking in Ireland to make our society more autism-aware and autism-friendly through the development and implementation of the Autism Innovation Strategy. The Autism Innovation Strategy development process has been designed to facilitate the participation of autistic people and their families at every stage and I look forward to launching the initial consultation process for the Autism Innovation Strategy shortly.
“The war in Ukraine was also raised during the day with each country outlining what it’s doing to support the people of Ukraine, particularly people with disabilities. I underlined Ireland’s support for all people, including people with disabilities, who are fleeing from the invasion of Ukraine and arriving to Ireland to seek temporary protection,” concluded Minister Rabbitte.
ENDS