Michael Bell
Question:8 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress on the implementation of the report of the Commission on Travelling People. [3065/99]
Other Questions. - Travelling Community.
In June 1998 I established a committee to monitor and co-ordinate the implementation of the recommendations of the task force on the travelling community. The committee, which is chaired by my Department, is representative of traveller interests, each of the four pillars in Partnership 2000 and relevant Departments. In addition to monitoring and co-ordinating the implementation of the task force recommendations, the committee will serve as a forum for consultation on current issues of national importance affecting the travelling community. Since its establishment the committee has met on four occasions.
The report of the task force included a number of recommendations concerning the introduction of legislation prohibiting discrimination against travellers. Discrimination against travellers is an issue which is of particular concern to my Department. A revised Employment Equality Bill was enacted in June 1998 and when it comes into operation, it will protect travellers as well as other groups from discrimination in the work place. Revised equal status legislation is currently being developed and I envisage the Bill will be published before the Dáil resumes after the Easter recess. The proposed Bill will prohibit non-workplace discrimination on a number of grounds, including membership of the travelling community. The Bill will protect travellers from discrimination in the non-employment areas such as education, provision of goods and services and accommodation.
As part of its terms of reference, the monitoring committee is required to draw up and submit to Government from time to time, starting in 1999, a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the task force including proposals for acceleration or prioritisation of implementation of recommendations. I intend to present the first progress report on the implementation of the recommendations to the Government before the end of this year.
The Minister referred to the Employment Equality Act and the proposed Equal Status Bill. He indicated to me yesterday that the Employment Equality Act would not be enforced until later this year. Could he be more specific about what he means by "later this year"? If he publishes the Equal Status Bill at Easter, as he has just suggested, can we expect it to be implemented in a much faster timeframe than was the Employment Equality Act?
There was a proposal that there should be 3,100 accommodation units of various types for travellers by 2000. Is that aim on course? I hope the Minister will not tell me I am asking for statistics.
I have no wish to be discourteous to Deputy O'Sullivan. However, the position in relation to accommodation for travellers is not a matter for me but for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. I will convey the Deputy's concerns to him and ask him to respond to her.
The Employment Equality Act is, however, my responsibility. Its implementation ran into a number of housekeeping problems, not least of which was the question of acquiring a premises at a very difficult time in the Dublin property market. I have now happily succeeded through the Office of Public Works, which I thank sincerely, in obtaining a premises at Clonmel Place, off Harcourt Street. I hope to house the Employment Equality Agency and the Director of Equality Investigations there, so that we can have a one-stop-shop dealing with the entire spectrum.
I have approval for additional staff. I envisage it will take approximately 40 additional staff to get it up and running properly. I also hope to appoint the Employment Equality Agency designate before National Women's Day. I hope I will be in a position to ensure this very important legislation is implemented by early summer.
The Deputy will be aware that the Equal Status Bill was not given the same level of in-depth consideration by the Supreme Court as was the Employment Equality Bill, which was struck down on three specific constitutional grounds. It was accepted, by logical extension, that the Equal Status Bill was also unconstitutional. However, because it was not considered in-depth by the court, it was necessary for the very industrious and able officials in my Department to look in very close detail at the Bill as it had been drafted by the then Minister, Mervyn Taylor, to see what substantive changes were required in order that we would have a Bill which would stand the constitutional test.
I am confident we will be in a position in the near future to introduce this legislation. I am also confident, subject to the vagaries of what goes on in this and the Upper House, that we will be in a position to have that legislation passed this year.
It would be remiss of me, given that I was asked the question by Deputy O'Sullivan, not to acknowledge the tremendous work done by my predecessor, the former Deputy Mervyn Taylor, when he was the Minister for Equality and Law Reform.
I presume there will not be the same kind of housekeeping problems with the implementation of the Equal Status Bill after it is published, as happened with the other Bill. Perhaps I did not exactly follow what the Minister said – is it expected that it will be implemented quickly after it is passed by the Oireachtas?
I do not envisage the same number of housekeeping problems which I ran into with the Employment Equality Act. This will be greatly helped by the fact that the Director of Equality Investigation will be responsible for the implementation of that Act, as well as for the Employment Equality Act.
I fully accept that people who are dependent on these two extremely important pieces of legislation are desperately anxious for them to be implemented. I am very conscious of that and I assure the Deputy the delay has not been through any lack of effort or urgency on my part or that of the Government, nor will it be in regard to the Equal Status Bill.
Does the Minister agree there should be a serious examination of why a rift has developed between the travelling and settled communities over the past 20 or 30 years? Twenty or 30 years ago travellers were welcomed into communities and were known personally. A serious rift has come between the travelling and settled communities, which engenders mistrust and sometimes fear. Does the Minister agree there should be a careful examination of why that happened? Putting in structures will not heal that type of rift.
We all agree that travellers' rights should be protected and that discrimination should be eliminated. However, with that comes a responsibility for travellers to respect the values and norms of the settled community, and to ensure that members of the travelling community do not behave in such a way as to impact on the lives and enjoyment of settled communities, as they sometimes do.
I agree with Deputy Neville that there appears to have been a deterioration in the relationship between travellers and the settled community. I can recall, from my young days, very happy relationships between the travelling and settled communities at school and elsewhere. That is not to say that has been entirely obviated – there are certain schools, places and people who maintain very good relations with the traveller community. However, it appears there has been a rift over the past 30 years or so.
In that context, the task force on the travelling community recommended 12 proposals on how relationships might be improved between the traveller and settled communities. The monitoring committee which I have set up is looking at those 12 proposals to see how they might be best implemented. It is my heartfelt wish that, arising out of the work which is being done, we will see a vastly improved relationship between the traveller and settled communities.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.