Professor Shivaun Quinlivan

The report was carried out by University of Galway and launched today at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in Dublin.

The review states that reform of disability rights is necessary to align Irish law with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

The Disability Act 2005 at 21: Reflecting, Reforming, Reimagining was produced by Professor Shivaun Quinlivan and Dr Charles O’Mahony at University of Galway’s School of Law, with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Communicating Europe Initiative.

Drawing on a national survey, stakeholder engagement, and critical legal analysis, the report concludes that the Disability Act reflects an approach focused more on administrative and policy responsibilities than on legally enforceable rights.

The report states that many of the Act’s core provisions remain constrained by weak enforcement mechanisms, limited accountability and the absence of effective remedies where statutory obligations are not fulfilled.

It also identifies a number of key reform priorities including:

• Transforming the Assessment of Need process for disabled people into an enforceable entitlement framework, creating clearer rights to services and supports and stronger accountability for their delivery
• Strengthening accessibility obligations
• Updating protections relating to genetic testing and emerging technologies such as AI
• Embedding the principles of the UN CRPD directly into Irish law

Professor Quinlivan said: “The only enforceable entitlement in the the Assessment of Need process, the assessment itself, has failed to deliver the transformation promised in 2005. While the legislation creates a right to assess need, it does not create a corresponding enforceable right to receive the services identified. The result is a framework that frequently records unmet need without remedying it. Long waiting times, resource constraints, litigation, and persistent implementation failures have significantly weakened confidence in the system.

“The Programme for Government commitment to reform reflects an acknowledgement that the current framework has not delivered for many disabled people and their families. The question now is not whether reform is necessary, but whether Ireland is prepared to move from a system of administrative discretion for the HSE to one of enforceable rights and accountability consistent with the United Nations approach/standards.”

Dr Charles O’Mahony said: “What struck us most throughout this project was not just the scale of frustration with the Disability Act 2005, but the extraordinary clarity, insight, and determination of disabled people and their families about what needs to change. Across the research, the national survey and conference, people spoke powerfully about the gap between rights promised and rights realised, between policy commitments and what living in Ireland as a disabled person is like. Participants in the research spoke with hope, ambition, and a vision for a more inclusive and fair Ireland.”