National Disability Authority Newsletter

Registration is live for our hybrid Annual Conference taking place on 16 October. Focusing on parenting, relationships, and sexual & reproductive rights, discussions will consider the implementation of Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Ireland.

At our Universal Design Grand Challenge 2025, third-level students presented innovative projects that showcased how Universal Design drives creativity and inclusion. The winning entries highlighted solutions with real-world impact across products, digital services, and the built environment, reflecting the growing influence of Universal Design in education and industry.

Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Hildegarde Naughton T.D., launched our 2025-2026 Someone Like Me Art Competition, inviting primary school aged pupils nationwide to celebrate inclusion through creativity. Winners will be honoured at county and national ceremonies in early 2026.

In partnership with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, we are hosting four lunchtime webinars this Autumn as part of our Universal Design in the Built Environment webinar series. Two webinars have already taken place, but you can still register to attend the remaining sessions.

On 3 October, we are hosting a webinar on homelessness and physical disability research that was funded through our 2023-2024 Research Promotion Scheme. Webinar registration is open.

The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 has been launched, providing a roadmap for implementation of the UNCRPD in Ireland over the next five years. We played a key role in ensuring that the voices of disabled people featured prominently in the Strategy development process through a comprehensive national public consultation. Our consultation report is available to read.

We are preparing a second report for the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality on the operation of the Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017. As part of this review, we are running a public consultation seeking feedback from ISL users and family members on access to public services and entitlements through ISL.

During the summer months, our Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) colleagues have been busy providing advice and increasing awareness about the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which took effect from 28 June 2025. Guidance materials, webinars and tools have been published to help organisations prepare for the new requirements. If you missed our latest EAA webinar, you can view it on our EAA webpage.

We have launched our official BlueSky profile, offering followers a new way to stay connected with us. Through our profile, we will share updates on our events, research and policy work.

BlueSky adds to our established presence on LinkedIn, X and YouTube, providing multiple ways for stakeholders and the public to engage with our work in real time.

You can now read our 2024 Annual Report which reflects the final year of our Strategic Plan 2022–2024. Highlights include our national consultation that helped inform the drafting of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People, the launch of Universal Design Guidelines for Changing Places Toilets, our Annual Conference on Article 30 of the UNCRPD, and our monitoring of progress under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities 2015-2024.

We have opened our Research Promotion Scheme (RPS) 2025–2026. The scheme invites proposals under the theme of disability in marginalised groups and communities, with a particular focus on Traveller and Roma communities. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is 6 October. Full details are available on our website.

We published three papers related to actions arising under the Autism Innovation Strategy 2024–2026. Our review Estimating Autism Prevalence in Ireland: Challenges and Opportunities examines the extent to which existing data sources and methods could provide a reliable estimate of the national prevalence of autism in Ireland. Our Synthesis of Existing Data on Current Attitudes Towards Autistic People in Ireland brings together findings from surveys, academic studies and existing datasets to build a clearer picture of how autistic people are perceived and included in Irish society. It highlights encouraging signs of growing awareness and understanding but also notes continuing misconceptions and barriers that limit participation. And we published updated Guidance for Justice Professionals on Communicating Accessibly with Autistic People. This resource supports those working across the civil and criminal justice systems and includes real-life scenarios and personal accounts alongside practical tools to support respectful, inclusive and effective communication with autistic people.

We published aWalkability Audit Summary Report summarising 48 walkability audits carried out with Age Friendly Ireland and local authorities. Our report also includes a ‘Universal Design Walkability Audit Tool’, which supports local authorities in embedding accessibility and inclusion in their planning process.

We published our eighteenth Part 5 report on compliance with the Disability Act 2005 on the employment of persons with disabilities in the public sector. In 2023, 11,254 public sector employees reported having a disability, representing 4.1% of the workforce. As such, the public sector exceeded the minimum target of 3% for the thirteenth successive year. More than three-quarters of public bodies have already achieved the 4.5% target for 2024, and over half have reached the 2025 target of 6% which indicates steady ongoing progress.

And finally, we supported and funded a recent Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) working paper detailing the Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the employment of people with disabilities.

In September, a number of our NDA and CEUD team members presented at external events. Our colleague, Dr Deirdre Nally, presented at the HSE Patient and Public Partnership Conference 2025 on the co-designing of an outcomes-focused monitoring system for adult disability day services along with an assessor with lived experience and a HSE colleague. Our colleagues Dr Gerald Craddock and Dr Flaithrí Neff presented their forthcoming research on ‘Making Electric Vehicles Audible: Perception and Inclusivity in Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System Design’ at the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe conference in Cyprus.

Our colleague, Aislinn Conway, participated in a panel discussion on European Accessibility Act standards at the Web Accessibility Directive Fifth Anniversary Event. In addition, our colleague, Dr Dónal Fitzpatrick, participated in a panel discussion at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission inaugural Annual Conference on the future of artificial intelligence and the opportunities and challenges posed by AI for disability inclusion.

In August, our CEUD colleagues partnered with Design Skillnet to deliver the Design Summer Sessions 2025. And colleagues from our Policy and Research team met with representatives from JAG Sweden to share learnings and insights regarding personal assistance and personalised budgets policy in Ireland and Sweden.

And finally on 8 July, our Director, Dr Aideen Hartney, and Senior Policy and Public Affairs Advisor, Ciarán Finlay, appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Equality. The Committee met to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024, which seeks to update and strengthen Ireland’s existing equality legislation