Ireland urgently needs a complete transformation in how the State understands and responds to the lives of disabled people, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said, as it today announced the appointment of 10 new members to the Disability Advisory Committee (‘the DAC’).
The DAC is a statutory advisory committee, set up to support the Commission’s function of monitoring of Ireland’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Its work is crucial in ensuring that the Commission, as Ireland’s International Monitoring Mechanism for the CRPD, is fully informed by people of deep experience and knowledge.
The majority of the DAC’s membership is made up of disabled people and its work is guided by the core principles that underpin CRPD. Its new members were appointed following an open competition and will serve a three-year term. They are
- Amanie Issa
- Amy Whelan
- Dr Caroline Jagoe
- Emma Ward
- Fionn Cromble Angus
- Gáibhin McGranghan
- Emma Rogan
- Shiloh Duffy
- Kevin Stanley
- Ursula Barry
The new members will join 3 current members, Peadar O’Dea, Dr Aoife Price and Fiona Anderson.
Liam Herrick, Chief Commissioner said:
“We need to see a wholesale transformation of how our society values, includes and supports disabled people. Following the publication of the new National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2023, and with attention now turning towards its implementation, the role of the DAC is more important than ever. Its work is crucial in making progress toward ensuring that human rights principles are embedded in all public policy, and in ensuring that the voices, experience and leadership of disabled people are at the centre of this. I would like to congratulate the new members of the DAC on their appointment and welcome them to their new roles.”
