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Briefing for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Published 29/06/2026

How Ireland can lead for inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and their families

Ireland will lead the Council of the European Union from July to December 2026.

Inclusion Europe and Inclusion Ireland wrote a briefing about:

  • What Ireland needs to do for rights and inclusion during their Presidency.
  • What the situation in Ireland is, including good developments to be built on at the European level and what they can learn from other countries.

Read in full: How Ireland can lead for inclusion (PDF)

Ireland should lead the European Union (EU) to progress toward full rights and inclusion.

Assistive technology

Ireland has announced that it will focus on assistive technology for people with disabilities.

This is good news because assistive technologies are important to support people to live independently and be included in the community.
The condition, though, is that it is affordable and accessible. The EU Presidency Conference on Assistive Technology in October 2026 in Dublin represents an opportunity to address this topic.

There are many areas that we recommend Ireland bring forward during this conference:

  • Education: how assistive technology can be used to support inclusive education, academic skills development and communication.
  • Right to decide: how it will be used to support the right to decide, for example, by helping communicate and understand will and preferences, especially for people with higher support needs.
  • Independent Living: how assistive technology can be employed to access community-based support and housing, as well as support in using services like banking, healthcare, or transport.
  • Employment: how assistive technology will be used to support access to work, adaptations of workplaces, and access to lifelong learning.

Participation

During the 6 months of EU Presidency, it is important that the Irish government involves people with intellectual disabilities and their families in activities.

Their voices are necessary to build inclusive policies that reflect their lives.

This concerns both:

  • Participation in policymaking: self-advocates and their families have a say in policymaking discussions related to disability rights, but not exclusively those; they need to have a say in anything related to the community they live in.
  • Participation in events: they should be able to participate and engage. This includes that events are accessible, including easy-to-read information, understandable discussions, and accessible venues.

EU disability policies

There are 5 policy priorities that we recommend Ireland lead on:

  1. The EU Disability Strategy: Ireland should encourage Member States to take part in the EU Alliance on Independent Living. It aims to provide tools to support independent living and clear plans for closing institutions in the EU.
  2. The next EU Budget 2028-2035: The next EU long-term budget should lead efforts to secure EU funding for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities instead of using it to build new institutions.
  3. Equality Directive: there should be a push to adopt the directive, showing renewed commitment to prevent discrimination from happening in education, housing, healthcare, and other public services.
  4. Supported decision-making: Ireland should encourage Member States to commit to a transition from substitute decision-making to supported decision-making across the EU.
  5. EU Semester: EU countries must be required to share data on institutionalisation and create clear recommendations to improve deinstitutionalisation and community-based services.

Read in full: How Ireland can lead for inclusion (PDF)