Speech by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence
Alan Shatter TD
at the launch of the
Equality Authority 2011 Annual Report
on 9th July 2012
I am delighted to be your guest here today to launch the 2011 Equality
Authority Annual Report. I would like to thank the Chair, Dr Angela Kerins
and Board of the Authority and your Chief Executive, Renee Dempsey, for
their kind invitation to be with you all today. I imagine today marks an
“end of era” for some of you. While that is true to some extent, this is
also a time of great opportunity which I hope you all share with me.
Today we reflect on the work carried out by the Equality Authority last
year. Again you have had a busy and productive year and have drawn to a
successful conclusion the ambitious plan of work set out under the
Authority’s Strategic Plan for 2009-2011.
The continuing public demand for the Equality Authority’s information and
advice is clear, with over 8,000 enquiries being dealt with annually from
members of the public. To put this figure in perspective, in what was its
busiest year on record the Office of the Ombudsman dealt last year with
some 11,500 enquiries.
The Authority’s legal casework and public awareness campaigns may be the
aspects of its work most visible to the general public. This may not do
justice to the significant achievements of the Authority’s educational and
developmental work. New research published in 2011 included the first
nationally representative survey on pregnancy at work, and a study on the
incidence and positive impact of equality policies and flexible working.
Indications of the impact of equality legislation after ten years in
operation, over a period of significant inward migration and varied
economic fortunes, were given by the preliminary results published in 2011
of the 2010 National Equality Survey. These initial results showed no major
changes in the prevalence of perceived discrimination, but highlighted
continuing low awareness of equality legislation, supports and remedies
among some sectors of the population. I am pleased to learn that further
detailed analysis of this survey has been commissioned by the Authority
which is expected to shed more light on the nature and extent of perceived
discrimination, both in the work context and in relation to services.
Recently, I took great pleasure, in opening the 6th European Gay Police
Association Conference in Dublin Castle hosted by the Garda Gay Lesbian and
Bisexual employee resource group, G-Force. This event clearly demonstrated
what can be achieved by employers and employees working together, with the
practical support that can be provided by the Equality Authority. As we
have heard this morning, projects undertaken last year included initiatives
in the fields of education, local authority housing provision and public
services which have a potentially transformative impact on Irish society.
I have long been a vocal critic of the treatment of both the Authority and
the Human Rights Commission by the previous Government. I have expressed
grave concern about the funding cuts placed on both organisations in the
past and how they affected the sustainability of your role and work.
Equality and human rights are two sides of the same coin. It is impossible
to envisage a society that respects human rights without its also being a
society that strives for equality of opportunity for all its members.
Equally, equality cannot be achieved without addressing respecting human
rights.
Accordingly, in September of last year I announced my intention to merge
the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission. I consider this one
of the most important initiatives I have undertaken as Minister for Justice
and Equality.
On publishing the Heads of the Bill for the new Human Rights and Equality
Commission recently, I said that Irish society will benefit from having a
strong and effective equality and human rights body. Independent mechanisms
that raise awareness of important issues and problems and keep public
bodies and office holders – including members of Government – on our toes
are an important guarantor of the rights of citizens and of the quality of
our democracy. The new Commission will combine the strengths of both
existing organisations. Its functions and powers will take from the best
and most effective of those of the two existing organisations and will
level them up, to ensure that the new body is stronger and more effective
that the sum of its constituent parts.
I want to express again my appreciation of the work carried out by the
Working Group I appointed last year to advice me on practical issues in
relation to the merger. The Group included four people from the board of
the Equality Authority, Betty O Leary, Peter White, Kieran Rose and Ellen
Mongan, and four from the Human Rights Commission - Michael Farrell,
Lia O Hegarty, Helen O Neill and Tom O Higgins. Michael Whelan acted as
independent chair and the Department contributed two representatives and
the Group’s Secretary.
The Group took their task very seriously and produced a comprehensive
report. 100% of the Group’s recommendations, insofar as they relate to the
provisions needed in the Bill to effect the merger, have been accepted by
Government. I am not sure that there are many Working Groups – or many
General Schemes of Bills - about which that can be said.
There is, of course, more to be done. In terms of next steps, an important
initial priority for the new Commission will be to undertake a review of
its staffing needs and to put together a business case. This will have
funding implications which will not be easy for me to deal with in the
current fiscal environment, but I am committed to doing what I can in
securing necessary funding in discussions with the Department of Public
Expenditure and Reform. I have already placed on record my view that the
administrative savings that will accrue to the new body from the merger
should be retained by it to enhance its core work capacity.
I fully appreciate the importance and value of an impartial and robust
equality and human rights infrastructure. That is why when I launched the
General Scheme of the Bill earlier this month I yet again gave my
commitment on the issue of independence. The selection process for new
Commissioners will be objective and outside the influence of Government. I
am concerned that the new Commission should reflect a wide spectrum of
Irish society. This is, as you are undoubtedly aware, a requirement of the
Paris Principles relating to the Status of National Human Rights
Institutions, but it is also relevant to the new Commission’s equality
competence. Equality and human rights are for everyone in society – they
are universal. No one sector of society has ownership of such rights. They
apply to everybody - rich and poor, young and old, guilty and innocent.
This is how a modern democracy must function to ensure a fair and equitable
society for all.
Public scrutiny of the
General Scheme and, in particular, the role of the
Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality to whom I have
referred the Heads, are important in identifying areas for improvement and
in raising public awareness of the project we are embarked upon. Lest there
be any doubt on the matter, one of the primary purposes of publishing the
General Scheme, or the Heads, of the Bill is to expose it to wider scrutiny
and constructive feedback so as to ensure that we ultimately have the best
legislation possible as the foundation stone for the new Human Rights and
Equality Commission.
The process we are embarked upon is an important one for us as a society.
We should never forget that Bunreacht na hEireann, the Constitution of
Ireland, provides that all the citizens of this State shall be held equal
before the law and requires the State in its laws to respect and, as far as
practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate the rights of the citizen.
The further elaboration of these rights, both expressly in the Constitution
and implicitly derived from it by our courts, are at the very centre of our
constitutional democracy. The new Human Rights and Equality Commission
will be an important part of our democratic architecture to ensure that we,
as a State, comply with both our Constitutions domestic equality and
personal rights principles and also our international obligations to
respect the human rights of all in this State, expand the equality agenda
and confront and eliminate discrimination.
We cannot nor should we ever accept or tolerate an à la carte approach to
human rights and equality principles. We must continuously evaluate what we
do and what we fail to do and strive to meet the highest standards. It is a
central core principle of this democratic Republic that rights and equality
apply to all and we cannot, nor should we, pick and choose those that are
both convenient and comfortable and ignore others that are inconvenient and
cause discomfort. We must also, of course, approach these matters in a
practical and common sense manner recognising the limits of our financial
capacity.
It is, I believe, important to emphasise that in a constitutional democracy
we do not have the luxury of applying the bits of the law we like and
disobeying or ignoring the bits we dislike. Those who so conduct
themselves have no respect for our Constitution, for democracy or civil
society and effectively discriminate against those who show such respect.
There is nothing civil about encouraging anarchy and nothing democratic
about either breaking the law or encouraging others to do so. There is no
right to break a law enacted by our democratically elected parliament,
there is merely an obligation to obey such laws. Should any law truly
violate personal or human rights or the right to equality, ultimately it is
our courts through which redress can be sought or, alternatively, any such
issue can be properly addressed by our Human Rights and Equality Bodies
and, when in place, by the new Human Rights and Equality Commission.
Creation of the newly enhanced Human Rights and Equality Commission is a
truly exciting project. It is not only important domestically but the
merger is also important to the international reputation of our State. We
want the new Commission, as Ireland's designated body for the promotion of
equal treatment under EU anti-discrimination law, to build on the strong
international reputation established by the Equality Authority. We also
want the new Commission to be accredited as a National Human Rights
Institution with ‘A’ status, and we are seeking election to the UN Human
Rights Council.
An important dimension of the work of the new Commission will be to build
on the existing strong working relations with the equivalent bodies in
Northern Ireland both on the equality dimension and in regard to human
rights. We have made specific provision in the proposed new legislation to
underpin this.
Turning back to this morning’s business, July 2012 will see the ending of
the mandate of the Board of the Equality Authority. For all of you I
acknowledge your service and your generosity in accepting an extended term
to facilitate the transition to the new Commission. I particularly want to
acknowledge the dynamic leadership provided by your Chair, Dr. Angela
Kerins. The experience which you all brought to the Authority and your
contribution in terms of time and commitment has been a vital element in
ensuring that it fulfilled its independent statutory role.
Over the thirteen years since its establishment, the Equality Authority and
its staff have developed a reputation and sphere of influence that far
exceeds its size. The quality and relevance of research commissioned by the
Authority is recognised and referred to worldwide, illuminating areas where
discriminatory practices may exist and assessing the effectiveness of
measures deployed to reduce inequalities. Innovative and practical tools
have been developed and put into use in most spheres of Irish society, from
small businesses to large enterprises, in both public and private sectors,
and making fundamental, if sometimes incremental, changes to the way we
work and access services. You have advised and supported individuals and
communities to understand and assert their rights. This is a body of work
of which you can be rightly proud. You can be confident that your efforts
have advanced equality of opportunity and the fight against discrimination
not only here in Ireland but also across the EU and further afield.
Finally I want to look to the future. In particular I wish to address the
staff of the Equality Authority and the staff of the Commission. The last
few months may have been a time of some uncertainty and apprehension for
you all. I hope that now with the publishing of the Working Group Report
and the General Scheme of the Bill we can all look to the future with more
confidence.
With a new Commission in place shortly, I hope work can commence to ensure
that your two organisations can start to operate as a cohesive unit. I
firmly believe that respect for equality and human rights should shape how
we live and work here in Ireland. The new Commission and its staff will
be uniquely placed to bring equality and human rights into public
decision-making and into private sector business practice and to play an
enhanced role in the manner in which it as a body interacts with Members of
the Oireachtas. I have no doubt that you will rise to that challenge.
I wish you well and assure you of my and the Government’s commitment and
support on the road ahead.