RECOGNISING AND RESPONDING TO VULNERABILITY: SECURING ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR VULNERABLE ACCUSED PERSONS IN IRELAND

This paper outlines international obligations and domestic safeguards that shape the treatment of suspects with intellectual disabilities in Ireland. In recognising that the meaningful operationalisation of these safeguards, and, by extension, the realisation of Ireland’s international human rights obligations, is often contingent upon securing a correct, and early, identification of a suspect’s disability, the paper places an emphasis on the unmet need for dialogue, training and enculturation at all frontiers of the Irish criminal process. Against a backdrop of heightening political, media and legal debate concerning the focus, content and reach of the terms of the draft An Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill, insights are raised to offer policymakers a blueprint for legislative and procedural reform that promises to align Irish criminal procedure with the human rights exigencies mandated under international conventions.