Tá dhá cheist agam, ceann amháin faoin equality-disability miscellaneous provisions Bill agus ceann eile faoin Lucht Siúil agus an gealltanas i gclár an Rialtais faoin national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy. Leanfaidh mé ar aghaidh leis an gceist faoin Lucht Siúil ar dtús. The Government signed up in November 2000 to the European Social Charter, including Article 16, which covers the rights of the family to social, legal and economic protection. In the last programme for Government, there was a commitment to deliver on the principles of social inclusion for the Traveller community. The current programme for Government makes a similar commitment and that includes a commitment to publish a national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy this year.

The report of the European Committee of Social Rights and the treatment of Travellers in the Dundalk area of my constituency in January and again in the past week provide evidence of the failure of this commitment. When will the Government publish its Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy? Will the Tánaiste give a commitment that the strategy will take into account the landmark judgment against the State on these issues? Will she also give a clear date by which the distinct ethnicity of Travellers will be recognised by the State? Some 19 months ago the previous Government gave a commitment to do this within six months. Will the Tánaiste also urge the Minister for the Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, to use his authority to prevent further evictions of Traveller families?

On the Equality (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill, the State signed up to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. Despite a commitment to ratify the convention in law in the previous programme for Government, ratification did not proceed. The new programme for Government contains much of the same rhetoric as its predecessor and commits to the introduction of enabling legislation. Five and a half years after this commitment was made, the relevant Bill has not been published and did not even make it to the most recent list of priority legislation. The new Minister of State with responsibility for disability services stated the UN convention would be ratified within six months and the programme for Government includes a commitment to bring draft legislation before the Oireachtas before the end of the year. When will the legislation be introduced and when will the UN convention be ratified? The new super junior Minister indicated it would be ratified within six months.

It will be done.

To answer Deputy Gerry Adams's final question, I confirm that Ireland will be able to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities within the next six months on the basis that the capacity legislation was passed towards the end of last year. That was the final significant Bill that had to be passed before Ireland could fully implement the convention. Some further changes to a number of Acts will be necessary to fully comply with the convention. The heads of the amending Bills were brought to the Cabinet towards the end of last year. The relatively minor changes required are being drafted and once they have been implemented, we will be in a position to ratify the convention. Ratification is overdue and the Government has given a commitment to take this necessary step. I expect it to be done within the next six months.

The Deputy also raised the issue of Traveller and Roma inclusion. I confirm that a new revised national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy aimed at improving the lives of members of the Traveller and Roma communities will be in place by the end of the year. Work on the strategy is under way and a special working group will be established to audit the current delivery and implementation of local authorities' Traveller accommodation plans and consult stakeholders in key areas of concern. The working group should report on a plan for the delivery of safe, culturally appropriate accommodation.

I note that the Deputy referred to the report issued by the European Committee of Social Rights. It is important to read the report in full as it recognises much of the work done by previous Governments, including the most recent, on the issues it examined. Several complaints were examined by the committee and it is reassuring to note that it found that Ireland was meeting its international obligations in the context of the adequacy of the legislative framework in place and the delegation of statutory responsibility to local authorities to meet the accommodation needs of Travellers. It did not find any violation of Article 16 in that regard. It recognised the progress made in a number of areas, while identifying that further work needed to be done on the issue of Traveller accommodation.

The committee found against the Government.

Its findings were mixed. It found in favour of the Government on a significant number of the issues it had addressed. It also found areas where there was no violation and some areas where there was. I am merely highlighting that the report's findings on how we are meeting our obligations in that area are mixed.

On Traveller ethnicity, this issue will form part of the discussions on developing a new Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy.