Live Consultations
From time to time there will be opportunities offered by various Government Departments and other organisations to make a submission or offer feedback to ongoing consultations, which are specifically relevant to disabled people and the disability sector. We aim to include these here with the relevant closing dates.
Please email us if you are aware of others that you think disabled people and organisations should be aware of.
The following are the current live consultations that we are aware of:
Government launches public consultation on Disability Act review
The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, and Minister of State for Disability, Emer Higgins, have launched a public consultation to inform a review of the Disability Act 2005. This is the first update to the Act in over 20 years.
Disabled people, their families, carers and representative groups are invited to submit their views, experiences and expertise as part of the process.
The review will examine the Act in light of Ireland's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which Ireland ratified in 2018. It will also consider the Programme for Government commitment to place an autism strategy on a legislative footing.
The Disability Act covers a wide range of areas including the definition of disability, assessment of needs, accessible public buildings, universal design, employment, and the use of genetic data.
Submissions are open until 9 September 2026 and are accepted in writing (email or post), as well as audio and video format. Accessible formats are available including ISL video, Easy-to-Read, screen reader-friendly and braille on request.
Consultation events will follow later in 2026, alongside international research into good practice on embedding UNCRPD obligations into domestic law.