NDA Submission to The Policing Authority's Policing Priorities

NDA Submission to The Policing Authority's Policing Priorities

The NDA highlighted An Garda Síochána’s obligation to ensure access to justice for persons with disabilities, under both the UNCRPD and the National Disability Inclusion Strategy.

The NDA advised that An Garda Síochána should work closely with the Department of Justice and other relevant stakeholders to draft a UNCRPD Implementation Plan, and to fulfil the requirements set out by both the Irish Sign Language Act and the Web Accessibility Directive. The NDA stressed the importance of data collection and dissemination and of effective disability awareness training for members of An Garda Síochána.

The NDA welcomed An Garda Síochána’s work to re-establish the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee (upon which the NDA sits), to run pilots for deaf citizens in two of its stations and to update its custody processes to take into account the different needs of persons with disabilities. The NDA encouraged the involvement of An Garda Síochána on the O’Malley sub-groups, one of which looks at the existing gaps in specialist training for justice professionals, and the other aims to establish a pilot for the use of intermediaries in the criminal just system.