The Employment Equality Act, 1998, will begin to be brought into operation after the infrastructure necessary to support it is established, probably in the first half of 1999.
Work is on schedule in my Department to put in place, in the first half of 1999, the infrastructure for equality provided in the Act, namely the equality authority and the office of director of equality investigations.
Premises have yet to be acquired for the equality authority and an intensive search for suitable premises is being carried out by the Office of Public Works in consultation with my Department with a view to identifying such a premises within the committed time frame.