The Commission has welcomed an important Supreme Court ruling on the rights of persons with disabilities to have reasonable accommodation made in workplaces as set out in legislation.

• Reverses the previous decision of the Court of Appeal by setting out that reasonable accommodation can involve a redistribution of any task or duty in a job.
• Sets out an expectation of consultation of employees on reasonable accommodation.
• Focuses on the dignity of the person and the centrality of the State’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ratified by Ireland in 2018.

The Commission has been granted liberty by the Supreme Court to exercise its amicus curiae function in a case exploring how separated parents exercising joint custody of their children are treated when applying for housing assistance payment (HAP) under the Housing Act 2009.

The case (Fagan v. Dublin City Council) centres on a separated father of three children, Mr. Fagan who sought HAP assistance to accommodate himself and his children. The Council assessed him as a one-person household for the purposes of the Housing Act, notwithstanding his three-night per week custody and co-parenting rights to his children, and so regarded Mr. Fagan’s need as being for a single bedroom unit.

In November 2018, the High Court backed Dublin City Council’s decision but permission to appeal to the Supreme court was granted to Mr Fagan and his children in April 2019.

In a separate case, the Commission was also granted liberty from the Supreme Court to exercise its amicus curiae function in a case focused on marriage and family rights.

The case (MKFS v. the Minister for Justice and Equality) is expected to clarify whether a marriage contracted under the Civil Registration Act 2014 is valid where the Minister for Justice considers it to have been contracted for the purpose of obtaining EU law entitlements.

The Commission's national awareness campaign “Because we’re all human. Means we’re all equal.” challenges societal and individual attitudes that limit people with disabilities’ participation in everyday life.

Running across cinema, radio and online over the summer, the campaign features 13 interviews with people from across Irish society, sharing personal perspectives on everyday life and some of the barriers encountered when living with autism, an intellectual disability or complex needs; being visually-impaired or blind, hard of hearing or Deaf; and having a physical disability or being affected by mental ill-health.

Follow the campaign on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #allhuman #allequal.