asked the Minister for Labour the progress which has been made in conducting the review of the Equality Acts with a view to extending their scope; which was promised in the Fianna Fáil election manifesto; if new legislation is now planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Equality Acts Review.
7.
A review of the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974, and the Employment Equality Act, 1977, has been carried out by my Department, and proposals and options for the amendment of the legislation will be put forward in a discussion document on labour legislation which I will be publishing early next week.
The purpose of the document — which also contains proposals relating to unfair dismissal and payment of wages legislation — is to explain the character of the changes that might be considered in the legislation and to encourage an informed and broadly-based debate on the issues involved.
I have requested that submissions on the document be made to my Department by the end of January 1988.
I welcome the announcement that this document is being circulated next week. To which bodies will it be made available for discussion? Perhaps the Minister could outline the various options included in that document.
This matter has been outstanding for some time and I know Deputy De Rossa and his colleagues have raised it a number of times. This is a fairly lengthy document covering three Acts. We hope this document will be circulated to as many people as possible. I think it will be of great interest to all members of trade unions and employers. As I have said in this House on a number of occasions, I am anxious to get a clear view as to whether this legislation is helpful, unhelpful or irrelevant to employment prospects. If we can get a good debate on the legislation we can state, once and for all, that we should amend this legislation to try to create employment. We must also decide if we need to strengthen the legislation to help the people it directly affects, the employees.
I am pleased to hear a document will be circulated next week but I am concerned to hear the equality legislation will be included. My understanding has been that the document would deal with the question of unfair dismissals because on that there was no consensus as to the direction in which we would be moving. In relation to equality, the reforms being sought have been very clear cut and I would like to think work on the drafting of a Bill is still going on.
A question please, Deputy.
At what stage is the drafting of the legislation?
There is no delay in the preparation of the three Bills. I have said the closing date should be January 1988, but as it might take some time to get the document finalised, we might need up to February 1988. The work on the equality legislation will not be finalised and brought to Government until the ongoing work in the Department is completed. There is still a great deal of correspondence received in the Department about these three Bills. This document will enable the Department to proceed with their work. The Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974, the Employment Equality Act, 1977, and the Payment of Wages Act are being processed simultaneously.
With regard to the equality legislation, is there a draft Bill in existence at this stage?
There is a considerable amount of work being done in the Department, but there is no draft Bill.