Vol. 427 No. 8
200 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to implementing legislation to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace and the implementation of the directives and regulations from the EC on the matter.
Victims of sexual harassment are afforded legal redress under the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1977.
There are no EC Directives or Regulations on the issue of sexual harassment. However, an EC Resolution on the Protection of the Dignity of Men and Women at Work was adopted by the Social Affairs Council during the Irish Presidency of the EC in 1990. As a result of the Resolution, the European Commission undertook to prepare a Recommendation and a Code of Practice on the subject which were published on 4 December 1991.
This Recommendation will be taken into consideration in the context of developing proposals to amend employment equality legislation in line with the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government and the response of Government to the recommendations of the Second Commission on the Status of Women, both of which envisage more explicit legal provisions on sexual harassment.
