The Government's decision to accede to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities may sail past the heads of some people today, but for those with disabilities, it's a significant announcement.
It marks another step in a long road following the adoption of the UNCRPD by the Irish State in 2007, which was finally ratified in 2018.
Through the UNCRPD, the Irish Government committed to full and equal rights for those with disabilities in Ireland.
The convention identifies 26 rights that impact the lives of persons with disabilities.
It covers civil and political rights to equal treatment and freedom from discrimination, and social and economic rights in areas like education, health care, employment and transport.
The final piece in the puzzle is the optional protocol - which runs alongside the convention - enabling people to challenge the State about their rights.
It means individuals and groups can complain to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that the State has breached obligations under the Convention.
Considering that disability rights is the main reason people contact the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, it's not inconceivable that many will seek to take this path.
However, complainants must exhaust all domestic remedies before the UN Committee deems "a communication admissible"; but if they proceed, grievances can result in an inquiry by the committee.
The Government has decided to accede to the optional protocol which has been welcomed by disabled people, their advocates and others.
It has taken some time to get to this point.
The Optional Protocol came into force at the same time as its parent Convention, but as of December 2021, it had 94 signatories and 100 state parties.
Read more: 'Landmark day' as Govt accedes to disability rights protocol
Ireland did not ratify the Optional Protocol and was viewed as an international outlier.
Indeed, a member of the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Markus Schefer, told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters in 2021, it suggested that Ireland was not confident or comfortable enough to open itself up to international scrutiny.
The Government says it originally intended to accede to the Protocol after Ireland's first Periodic Review by the Committee in 2021.
However, it pointed to delays at UN level, as a reason that earlier accession did not come take place.
The Assisted Decision-Making Act also needed to be up and running prior to accession, otherwise, the wardship process would be out of step with the UNCRPD and the Optional Protocol.
The Decision Support Service was launched in 2023, from which date the Wards of Court office has three years to discharge all adults' wards from wardship to a tier of support relevant to them.
This has resulted in a battle by the campaign groups Justice for Wards and the Discharge of Wards Support Group who sought meetings with Government representatives over their concern regarding a lack of consultation with families before the Decision Support Service was established.
Despite this, once the Decision Support Service was up and running, work could proceed in getting legal advice on issues that could be raised in an Irish context.
This was carried out by an interdepartmental group which was established by Minister Roderic O'Gorman in April this year and included a representative for the Attorney General to look at these matters.
Challenges could emerge on a range of issues such as delays in providing therapies for children with needs, school places for autistic children or young people living in nursing homes due to a lack of residential places.
It's understood that certain civil servants were concerned about the country's reputation if a negative decision was issued by the UN committee, but despite this, party leaders were keen to press ahead.
Indeed, it's difficult to imagine that the UN will unearth some unknown issue that is not already glaringly obvious.
Similar concerns were raised over ratification of the UNCRPD in 2018.
What is notable is the fact the memo was brought to the Cabinet the week after the Budget.
In public, the ministers will say there are no substantive direct costs expected to be incurred in terms of ratification, but the Minister of State for Disabilities Ann Rabbitte has acknowledged that this "may be difficult to quantify this given the breadth and depth of the UNCRPD itself".
There's no doubt, today's news has been warmly welcomed by people with disabilities and their advocates who repeatedly called on the Government to accede to the optional protocol during its term in office as outlined in the programme for government.
The next step will be drafting an agreement between the UN and Ireland.
It's understood that initial discussions on the legal text are underway between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the UN.
The expectation is that the process will conclude before Christmas.
