Department of Justice launches consultation on five-year Equality Action Plan and Disability Action Plan
Date published:
The Department of Justice today published a draft Equality Action Plan and draft Disability Action Plan for public consultation.
In line with the Department’s statutory obligations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended by Article 5 of the Disability Discrimination (NI) Order 2006), it is seeking the views of individuals and organisations on the proposals.
The consultation includes actions that the Department plans to take to promote equality of opportunity and good relations and to encourage positive attitudes towards people with disabilities and to widen participation of people with disabilities in public life.
The consultation, which closes on Monday, 8 June, 2026, can be accessed at the consultation section of this website.
Notes to editors:
- To develop this action plan, the DoJ has developed:
- an audit of inequalities;
- action measures based on functions and key inequalities identified;
- performance indicators for delivery of action measures; and
- timescales for implementation of action measures.
- In its guidance, ‘Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998: A Guide for Public Authorities’, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) recommends that public authorities should review and update action plans over the lifetime of their equality scheme to ensure that they remain effective and relevant to their functions and work and to report of progress on their delivery. This is reflected in the Department’s Equality Scheme.
- The ability to fully implement the Action Plan will be dependent on budget allocations to the Department for the lifetime of the plan.
- The point of contact in relation to the consultation, implementation, review and evaluation of this Equality Action Plan is the DoJ Equality Unit – email: .
- Any request for the document in another format or language will be considered. Please contact us via Email in the first instance.
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