Children with disabilities 'being ignored in rights initiatives'
Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, is launching the Mind The Gap report online at 2.30pm today. To join the webinar, see link at the foot of this article. Picture: Moya Nolan
Children with disabilities are all too often invisible or ignored, according to a new report for the Ombudsman for Children, with a lack of data, resources, and participation putting barriers in the way of progress.
The report, entitled Mind the Gap — Barriers to the realisation of the rights of children with disabilities in Ireland, was prepared for the Ombudsman for Children’s Office by researchers at NUI Galway. It found "several instances whereby children with disabilities have not had any documented opportunities to participate in the development of legislation, policy and programmes which affect their lives".
"Children with disabilities are largely absent from the array of overlapping and intersecting legal instruments that provide for rights protection in the area of equality and non-discrimination," it said.
It recommends changes to the law in a number of areas to increase the rights of children with disabilities and highlights a range of shortcomings in existing policies and how they are applied.
The report, which is being launched today, referred to the limitations of the National Intellectual Disability Database and the National Physical and Sensory Disability Database which "only record individuals in receipt of certain kinds of disability services, including residential services and day services".
It describes the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 as "more adult-centred than child-centred", with "no evidence that the voices of children with disabilities are being recorded in the monitoring of this Strategy".
As for children with disabilities and the law, the report said there is little guidance for gardaí about which processes are in place where children with disabilities need to be detained, alongside an overwhelming lack of information, guidance, or safeguards regarding children deprived of their liberty.
It also said a child is not guaranteed access to an advocate who can explain procedures in a child-friendly way, which can be particularly difficult for a child with a disability.
The report also highlights issues in the education and health systems and said that, under current mental health law, children have no recognised legislative rights protection regarding consent to refusal of admission and treatment. It also noted the high waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and said "the HSE should introduce a protocol on free and informed consent, offering information to children and young people and guidance to healthcare professionals working with them".
"Another common finding of the research, which is reflected in this report’s conclusion, is that children with disabilities are often overlooked both within disability law, policy and programmes, and children’s rights initiatives (including legislation, policy and practice)," it said.
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