CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY
DR. ALAN CUSACK PRESENTS HIS RESEARCH AT THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY
On Wednesday, 21 October 2020, Dr. Alan Cusack addressed the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte T.D., and, James Browne T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform, at the National Disability Authority’s Annual Conference 2020.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Facilitating the Effective and Equal Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Irish Criminal Justice System (Article 13 UNCRPD)”. The conference focused on a range of important issues related to inclusivity, equality, justice and effective social partnerships.
The conference included contributions from Cataline Devandas Aguilar (Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities); Ms Justice Mary Irvine (President of the High Court); Catherine O’Neill (Chair, Intermediaries for Justice); Kate Mulkerrins (Executive Director of Legal, An Garda Síochána) and Ray Byrne (Law Reform Commission).
Dr. Cusack delivered a paper entitled ‘Evidential Barriers faced by Persons with Disabilities in Criminal Proceedings’ as part of the ‘Courts & Legal Professionals’ session with Dr. Bronagh Byrne (Queens University Belfast) and Angus Cleary (Equality and Human Rights Commission, Great Britain). The paper explored embedded barriers within Ireland’s criminal process which continue to prejudice efforts aimed at securing the best evidence of witnesses with intellectual disabilities in court.
A video recording of the entire conference is available on the website of the National Disability Authority.
