News

We are delighted to welcome the first two postdoctoral fellows to the PREPARED project. Recently Dr Philippa Duell-Piening and Dr Beatriz Pérez-Pérez started their fellowships at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, University of Galway. In their first week in their new roles they each presented their research at the Institute for Lifecourse and Society Research Day.   Philippa's research project is entitled Technology and Disability rights: The impact of advanced digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, on the rights of people with disability' and is supervised by Dr János Fiala-Butora. This project explores the impact of artificial intelligence and other advanced digital technologies on the autonomy of people with disability. This project is interested in how these technologies may enhance or undermine the autonomy of people with disability.   Beatriz's research project is entitled Advancing Feminist/Disability/Mad Justice in Human Rights-Based Care and Support Systems and is supervised by Prof Eilionóir Flynn. This project addresses the challenge of building integrated human rights-based care and support systems by tackling the international gap between gender- and disability-specific solutions.  You can find out more about their research and follow their progress on the PREPARED website and across our social media channels. 

We are delighted to announce that the 17th International Disability Law Summer School will take place from the 15th to 17th June 2026. The theme this year is 'The UNCRPD Twenty Years On: New Horizons and Emerging Challenges' and summer school will once again be offered in-person and online.   This year’s International Disability Law Summer School will mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). At the time of its adoption, the UNCRPD was heralded as the greatest single advance in protecting the rights of disabled people globally, as well as a gold standard for inclusive drafting of human rights instruments. This anniversary presents an important opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved in the two decades since the Convention’s adoption. While there has certainly been some progress globally in legislating for the human rights of disabled people; at the same time, the challenges to the vision presented by the UNCRPD are ever increasing. The growth of climate crises, global pandemics, war, genocide and far right politics pose specific threats to the human rights of disabled people which were not fully considered when the UNCRPD was adopted. New developments which were not foreseen by the drafters of the UNCRPD also must be explored from a disability human rights perspective, including the emergence of new technologies. These can enhance disabled people’s participation in society, but equally, can undermine their freedom through surveillance and control. This year’s summer school will explore how disabled people’s movements can continue to advance their vision for justice and the role the UNCRPD can play in this work into the future.  More information and registration will be available soon at  https://cdlp.clr.events/event/139678 

Congratulations to Eilís Ní Chaoimh PhD Candidate at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, University of Galway and Hardiman Scholar University of Galway who was recently awarded a CORD Justice Fellowship.   With a growing cohort of PhD researchers focusing on crime and criminal justice in Ireland, the CORD Justice Fellowship, supported by Maynooth University, aims to maximise the benefits of this research for society. It achieves this by mentoring and supporting Fellows to identify the practical implications of their research and to communicate these to non-academic audiences.  Eilís' research explores mechanisms for accommodating neurodiversity in doctrines of mens rea and is supervised by Dr János Fiala-Butora.  More info: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/cord-partnership/news/cord-partnership-awards-two-justice-fellowships-2026 

The second, and final, call for proposals in the PREPARED project is open now. PREPARED is an exciting new project led by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy with colleagues in Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Universidade de Lisboa and Swiss Paraplegic Research. The call opened on the 16thJanuary 2026 and the deadline for applications is 13 March 2026 before 23.59 (GMT). PREPARED offers an excellent opportunity for postdoctoral researchers to develop their skills and networks while addressing the most urgent global challenges of our time.   On the 27th of January 2026 we held an online information session for prospective applicants in Call 2. The session included key insights from PREPARED supervisors and secondment partners as well as reflections from the fellows recruited in Call 1. The webinar was recorded and made available on the Centre for Disability Law and Policy's YouTube channel for potential applicants who could not attend  Find out more about the PREPARED project and Call.2 for Proposals https://preparedresearch.eu/call-for-proposals/  To access a recording of the information session, with captions and International Sign Language interpretation, click here (opens in new tab). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIO1HQi9KnM  

Dr Clíona de Bhailís, a Research Ireland Government of Ireland Fellow at the Centre, recently published a report on her research exploring how the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act is applied to young people who are non-speaking, sometimes speaking or communicate differently. The research was shared at a webinarwhich outlined the findings from the three case studies completed with young people and their supporters and a survey of over 250 professionals from a broad range of backgrounds. The webinar also featured responses from Nem Kearns, NeuroPride Ireland and Áine Flynn, Director of the Decision Support Service.   

Today we were delighted to celebrate with the 2024/2025 LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy class.   Pictured below are LLM graduates Darius Moran, Adam Croker, Pippa Black, Alice Griffin and Okechukwu Okey Aniche with LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy programme director Dr János Fiala-Butora.   Congratulations once again to all of our graduates and to all of those from the University of Galway School of Law and the Irish Centre for Human Rights at University of Galway. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours. 

Dr Clíona de Bhailís, a post-doctoral researcher at the University’s Centre for Disability Law and Policy, has been awarded a Wellcome Early-Career Grant of more than €700,000 to conduct the study.  The research team will work alongside young people with disabilities aged 18–24 to interview other disabled people across Ireland to gather their lived experiences of care and support. The findings will be analysed to produce evidence-based guidance on how law, policy and systems can be reformed to realise disabled people’s human rights.  Dr de Bhailís said: “The project comes at a critical moment in Ireland, with legislative developments, a referendum on family and care, and the impacts of COVID-19 reigniting public discussions on care. Despite this attention, young disabled people have often been marginalised in these debates. By placing them at the heart of the research process, the project aims to challenge assumptions about vulnerability and dependency while informing policy and practice.”  Many disabled people require access to a range of care and support to live independently, including personal and intimate care, healthcare assistance, supported decision-making, and help navigating community services. Historically, the concept of care has been controversial within the disabled people’s movement, often seen as reinforcing dependency and ignoring that disabled people also care for and support others. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disabled people have a right to live in the community with choices equal to others, including choosing the types of care and support that meet their needs.  The project, entitled GenCare: Intergenerational Explorations of Care and Support for Disabled People in Ireland, will run for four years is designed to put young people at the forefront of shaping change in Ireland.  Dr de Bhailís added: “The project will take an innovative approach by establishing a collective of young disabled co-researchers who will be involved in every stage of the research. They will gather data from disabled people across Ireland, documenting their experiences of care and support, and come up with ideas for reform. Our goal is to make sure disabled people are at the heart of any future reforms while ensuring we continue to learn from past experiences.” 

Amanie Issa, Research Ireland PhD scholar, has been appointed to the Disability Advisory Committee of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Amanie is a PhD researcher at the Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at University of Galway, supervised by Dr Edel Hughes and Professor Eilionóir Flynn. The committee plays a vital role in advising IHREC on its work to promote, protect, and monitor Ireland’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In reflecting on her appointment, Amanie said: "As someone deeply committed to disability and gender justice, and inclusive policymaking, I’m incredibly grateful to contribute to this important work.I look forward to working alongside fellow committee members, advocates, and stakeholders to help ensure that the voices and rights of disabled people remain central to human rights advocacy and protection efforts across Ireland." To learn more about the newly appointed members of the Committee, you can read the announcement here.

On the 5th of March we held a webinar to launch the PREPARED project and our first call for proposals. PREPARED is an exciting new project led by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the University of Galway in collaboration with  Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Universidade de Lisboa and Swiss Paraplegic Research. The project aims to support the next generation of disability rights postdoctoral researchers to respond to the most urgent global challenges of our time. As governments, development agencies and civil society struggle to respond to challenges such as the climate crisis, the refugee crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, disabled people are often left behind. PREPARED will equip postdoctoral researchers to address these global challenges by offering opportunities within leading global interdisciplinary research teams, and embedding researchers where they are most needed – in organisations outside academia where they can apply their research to real world problems, ensuring maximum societal impact. We will be recruiting a total of 6 postdoctoral researchers between 2025-2030. The first call for proposals for the PREPARED project is now open. The project is currently accepting proposals for full-time, fixed term Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowships across its three employing organisations. Up to three fellowships may be awarded in the first call. PREPARED Fellowships are open to applicants of any nationality who have a PhD degree and comply with the programme’s eligibility criteria and mobility rules including disabled researchers and Researchers at Risk (those displaced by conflict or whose situation makes it difficult to pursue research careers are also encouraged to apply. All candidates must develop a research proposal and seek the support of an eligible PREPARED supervisor for their application.  More information on the project and the call for proposals is available at the following link - https://preparedresearch.eu/

The Centre for Disability Law and Policy (CDLP) at University of Galway is pleased to announce the return of our International Disability Law Summer School from Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th of June 2025. Our theme this year is ‘Disabled Activism in an Age of Far-Right Resurgence’. This year the event will be condensed into three days as opposed to previous years which have taken place over five days. This year’s event will again follow a hybrid approach, enabling speakers and delegates to participate in-person or online.   To register for the event or find out more click on this link.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was commenced on the 26th April 2023 and is now fully operational. The Act radically changes Ireland’s law in relation to capacity, decision-making, and support. Upcoming Dates For the dates of our upcoming training sessions and registration information please visit the following link - https://cdlp.clr.events/event/137257  

The first Irish study of disabled political candidates has identified financial costs and difficulty canvassing as among the many systemic barriers facing disabled candidates who wish to participate in political life in Ireland. The research focused on the experiences of disabled candidates who identified as holding intersecting identities and stood in the Irish local and European elections in 2024. It was conducted by researchers at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin. The research was funded under the National Disability Authority Research Promotion Scheme. The qualitative research involved in-depth interviews with seven disabled political candidates with intersecting identities, and representatives from eight organisations representing migrant, LGBTQ+ and Traveller communities, disabled people’s organisations, and education and training organisations. The full report, ‘Disability, Diversity and Identity in Ireland’s Local and European Elections 2024’, can be read here as a PDF or here as a MS Word Document. An Easy-to-Read version of the research report is available here as a PDF. The recording for the recent Report launch is now available. The slides from the recent webinar are available here NDA project report launch slides There are two version of the video available to watch the Webinar back. Version with Captions, Slides and partial sign language, please click hereor use the following link https://youtu.be/l-fd91dEFYQ Version with sign language only, please click hereor use the following link https://youtu.be/-z6imfMHgBU

We are delighted to launch a new research report ‘Exploring the Need for a Representative Advocacy Service for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Ireland’. The research was completed by Emma Q Burns, Dr Cliona de Bhailís and Professor Eilionóir Flynn and was commissioned by Inclusion Ireland. This research has demonstrated that there is a clear gap in the provision of representative advocacy for children with intellectual disabilities in Ireland. While many participants in this research identified that there is potential for a representative advocacy service for children with intellectual disabilities consensus on the precise structure, governance, and operation of such a service were hard to achieve. What is evident is that access to representative advocacy can help protect and promote the rights of children with intellectual disabilities, but that any such service must be child-centred, human rights-focused, fully accessible and adequately resourced to fulfil its remit.You can access the research report and an Easy Read version by clicking here.

Congratulations to Grace Barnes who was awarded a Hardiman PhD Scholarship from the University of Galway and joined the Centre's PhD programme earlier this semester. Grace's PhD research 'Disability or Sexuality? Unmasking the Construction of Disabled Women’s Identities in Human Rights Discourses' is supervised by Professor Eilionóir Flynn.

The CDLP was delighted to celebrate the achievements of a number of our PhD and LLM students today. Dr Aoife Price graduated from our PhD programme today. Her PhD ‘Frictions and Coalitions: Findings from a European Study of Disabled Women’s Experiences in Social Movements’ was supervised by Professor Eilionóir Flynn as part of the DARE (Disability Advocacy Research in Europe) Project funded through the European Commission’s Marie Curie programme. Huge congratulations on your achievement Aoife! Today also saw the graduation of the 2023/2024 class of the LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy. Pictured below are Stephain Lynagh and Tatum McGuffin, LLM graduates, with Dr. Aoife Price and Professor Eilionoir Flynn. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours. Congratulations once again to all of our graduates and indeed to all of those from the University of Galway School of Law and the Irish Centre for Human Rights at University of Galway.  

On the 22nd of May the Centre hosted a webinar on our LLM in International and Comparative Disability Law and Policy programme. Professor Eilionóir Flynn, Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy and Established Chair in the School of Law was joined by Thokozani Soko to discuss entry requirements, modules, the student experience and much more. This unique LLM is an innovative and internationally focused programme dealing with the process of law reform in the field of disability. Each year two students from this LLM are selected to participate in a prestigious internship with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The webinar is now available to watch back for anyone who missed the live session: click here You can find out more about the LLM at this link: Click here

The Centre for Disability Law and Policy (CDLP) at University of Galway is pleased to announce the return of our International Disability Law Summer School from Monday 17th to Friday 21st of June, 2024. This year’s event will again follow a hybrid approach, enabling speakers and delegates to participate in-person or online. Our theme this year is ‘Gender and Disability Justice.’ To register for the event: click here

The final report and the full range of knowledge products from the research project 'Closing the Justice Gap for Women with Intellectual and/or Psychosocial Disabilities' is now available on the UN Women website. In 2022, UN Women launched the Closing the Justice Gap project, which included legal needs surveys in Nepal, Fiji, the Philippines, and Indonesia, of women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. We worked on this project with colleagues in Irish Centre for Human Rights and also worked closely with individuals with disabilities and their representative organisations across each of the countries represented. You can find out more about the project, its findings and access the materials at the following link: click here