The Government should urgently ratify UN rules on the equalisation of opportunities for people with disabilities, a disabled people's organisation has said.
Mr Michael Ringrose, chief executive of People with Disabilities in Ireland (PWDI), said the 22 rules should be enshrined in the Disabilities Bill, to be published shortly.
He said: "The new legislation should include provision for the appointment of an Ombudsman, or some independent office, to ensure the rights of the disabled are protected at all times."
"These 22 rules are fundamental to protecting and defending the rights of the estimated 360,000 people in Ireland who have a disability of some kind," said Mr Ringrose.
"They address a whole range of issues including awareness, education, access, recreation and so on."
He said the PWDI is a newly established, Government-funded but independent body which represents people with disabilities.
Earlier this year, Prof Gerard Quinn of NUI Galway said a proposal to craft a "legally-binding UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities" was "gathering much support internationally".
It was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish mission to the UN in Geneva. "Since 1996, Ireland has been the main sponsor of that resolution," Prof Quinn said at the Department of Foreign Affairs fourth annual Non-Governmental Organisation Forum on Human Rights.