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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— April – May 2013
M
INISTER Shatter has promised that
the new Human Rights and Equality
Commission will “more effectively,
efficiently and cohesively champion
human rights and equality”. It is, however, difficult
to envisage how a body, composed of two merged
organisations that have seen their budgets and
their staffing levels devastated, could be expected
to work more effectively.
Since , the Equality Authority and the
Irish Human Rights Commission have been sig-
nificantly and systematically diminished. Their
budgets have been reduced by % for the Irish
Human Rights Commission and % for the
Equality Authority. The staffing level of the Irish
Human Rights Commission has been reduced
from staff to six staff (a % reduction) and
the Equality Authority from staff to staff
(a % reduction).
Neither body was ever regarded as sufficiently
resourced. Even in neither body had the
resources to implement all its functions. Minister
Shatter has confirmed, in response to a recently-
tabled parliamentary question, that the budget for
the Human Rights and Equality Commission will
be the combined reduced budgets of the two exist-
ing bodies. This budget of €.m is €.m less
than the budget that was available to the Equality
Authority alone, in .
Reduced resources have taken their toll. The number of legal cases the
Equality Authority has supported dropped by % between and
. The Irish Human Rights Commission has no funding available to
discharge its legal functions and any legal work being carried out is on a
pro bono basis.
The campaigning ‘Equality and Rights Alliance’ has presented a report,
based on the above, to the EU Parliament Petitions Committee. This sets out
the case that the Irish Government is in breach of its obligations under the
EU equal treatment directives, given the disproportionate cuts applied to
the Equality Authority. This builds on an earlier petition made in .
The directives require Member States to designate a body with the
capacity to give independent assist-
ance to victims of discrimination
to pursue complaints, conduct
independent surveys concerning
discrimination, publish independent
reports and make recommendations
on discrimination issues. The Equality
Authority does not have the resources
to fulfil this mandate.
The Irish Human Rights
Commission enjoys ‘A’ status under
the UN “Paris Principles” for National
Human Rights Institutions. The
Equality and Rights Alliance has sub-
mitted a report to the International
Co-ordinating Committee on the
situation of the Irish Human Rights
Commission, as set out above, recom-
mending a review of its ‘A’ status.
The merging of the Equality
Authority and Irish Human Rights
Commission represents the rep-
rehensible nadir of our statutory
equality and human rights infra-
structure, though there is still an
opportunity to ensure that the new
Commission is established in a man-
ner that allows it effectively to advance
equality and human rights. It is vital
that the legislation to set up the new Commission, expected in April, is devel-
oped in a manner that creates the conditions to realise this potential.
The Equality and Rights Alliance has identified five areas of concern
from the Heads of Bill for the new body, published last June:
l
The definitions of equality and human rights in the Bill need to be broad-
ened to avoid limiting the functions of the body.
l The scope for the merged body needs to include, as part of its key pur-
pose, holding the state to account on human rights and equality issues
and stimulating social change for equality and human rights.
l The body should be made directly accountable to the Oireachtas rather
than, as proposed, to the parent Department of Justice, Equality and
Defence.
l
The body must have full autonomy to appoint all of its own staff rather
than having to depend on civil-service secondments.
l
The welcome introduction of a duty on public bodies to give considera-
tion to equality and human rights needs to be strengthened. with the
addition of enforcement mechanisms and of an ambitious definition of
what is meant by “give consideration to”.
Rachel Mullen is coordinator of the Equality and Rights Alliance
rachel mullen
news
More purge than merge
The new Human Rights and Equality Commission is underfunded,
underpowered and inadequately independent
The stafng of the Irish Human Rights
Commission has been reduced from 14 staff to
6 (a 57% reduction) and the Equality Authority
from 58 staff to 12 (a 79% reduction)
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