Author: Sofia Milici
A New Chapter for Disability Rights in Ireland
What does it really mean to live “a life without barriers” in Ireland? The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 sets out how Government plans to turn that ambition into everyday reality. Built on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Strategy is a whole-of-Government roadmap to ensure disabled people can learn, work, travel, live and participate in Irish society on an equal basis with others.
A Whole-of-Government Roadmap for Change
The Strategy recognises disabled people as rights holders. It moves Ireland further away from a medical model of disability towards a social and human-rights approach that focuses on removing barriers in systems, services and environments.
It was developed following extensive engagement with disabled people, their families and Disabled Persons’ Organisations, including focus groups, town-hall meetings, a national survey and written submissions. That consultation shaped the vision, values and priorities of the Strategy and reflects the principle of “nothing about us without us”.
At its core, the Strategy commits every Government department and key State agency to coordinated action. It aligns disability policy with wider national frameworks such as Better Public Services, the National Development Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring disability is considered in mainstream decision-making rather than treated as a separate add-on.
Five Pillars for Full Participation
To make progress practical and measurable, the Strategy is structured around five Pillars. Each Pillar contains specific commitments, priority actions and clear responsibility for delivery.
Pillar 1: Inclusive Learning and Education
Under this pillar, departments are expected to turn the ambition of inclusive education into day-to-day practice. In practical terms, this includes investing in school buildings and early learning settings, so they follow Universal Design guidelines, expanding the Access and Inclusion Model beyond ECCE to all early learning and childcare settings, and developing a national Roadmap for Inclusive Education. Departments will also be working to strengthen supports in schools, for example through therapeutic and psychological services, and to create clearer, more inclusive pathways into further and higher education, including targeted courses for students with intellectual disabilities.
Pillar 2: Employment
For employment, departments have to focus on both the public and private sectors. This means setting and meeting targets to increase the number of disabled people employed in the civil and public service, promoting inclusive recruitment and career progression in the private sector, and reviewing how income supports and secondary benefits interact with work so that taking up a job is a real and sustainable option. It also includes implementing the findings of reviews such as the “rehabilitative training review” and examining how day services, activation programmes and employment supports can work together more effectively to help disabled people enter or return to work.
Pillar 3: Independent Living and Active Participation in Society
Under this pillar, departments are expected to expand the range and quality of supports that enable disabled people to live independently and participate fully in community life. Examples include delivering an additional one million Personal Assistance hours by 2030, developing a national policy on Personal Assistance based on self-directed support, progressing de-congregation and community-based housing under the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People, and improving access to arts, culture, tourism and sport through more accessible events and venues. Departments and agencies will also be working to remove barriers to participation in public and political life and to improve how disabled people are supported when they come into contact with the criminal justice system.
Pillar 4: Wellbeing and Health
For wellbeing and health, the Strategy requires departments and the HSE to make mainstream health and wellbeing services genuinely accessible, while strengthening specialist supports where needed. This includes making hospitals, clinics and communications more accessible, improving access to mental health supports for disabled children and young people, and enhancing safeguarding so that people are protected from abuse and treated with dignity and respect. It also involves targeted action on oral health, screening and audiology services, as well as early intervention and family supports for disabled children and their families, so that people can access the right care at the right time.
Pillar 5: Transport and Mobility
Under the transport and mobility pillar, departments and agencies are expected to apply a “whole-of-journey” approach based on Universal Design. In practice, this includes reviewing and updating standards and guidelines for public transport and the surrounding built environment, investing in accessibility retrofit programmes, improving audio-visual information on buses and trains, and reducing advance-notice requirements for assistance. It also covers expanding accessible public transport options in urban and rural areas, extending schemes such as the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Taxi Grant Scheme, developing a new vehicle adaptation scheme, and enhancing personal mobility supports for disabled people who cannot use standard public transport.
Turning Commitments into Real Change
Ambition alone is not enough. The Strategy is backed by concrete delivery and monitoring arrangements designed to keep momentum over the five-year period. Programme Plans of Action, updated every two years, will set out priority actions, timelines, lead bodies and key performance indicators for each commitment.
A national Delivery and Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Taoiseach, will bring together Government departments, agencies, Disabled Persons’ Organisations and other stakeholders to track progress and troubleshoot barriers. A dedicated Data and Evidence Working Group will develop indicators and improve disability data so that decisions are informed by robust evidence.
Capacity-building is also a core feature. The Strategy outlines work on accessibility and Universal Design, improved disability research and data, and a stronger framework for stakeholder engagement with disabled people. Strategic Focus Networks will address cross-cutting issues such as digital and assistive technology, the cost of disability and intersectionality.
What This Strategy Means for Organisations
The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 is more than a policy document. It is an invitation and an expectation that public bodies, private organisations and communities redesign how they plan, deliver and evaluate services so that disabled people can live full lives of their own choosing.
For organisations, this means embedding Universal Design, reviewing policies and practices through a rights-based lens, engaging directly with disabled people, and aligning local actions with the five Pillars of the Strategy. Done well, this will not only meet legal and policy obligations but also build more inclusive, resilient and innovative services for everyone.
Get in contact with us to explore how OHAC can support your organisation to implement Universal Design and accessibility in line with this Strategy, or join OHAC’s mailing list if you want to stay up to date in Accessibility and Universal Design.
Source
Government of Ireland: National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030.