Vol. 519 No. 2
299 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether the non-availability of the new home carer's allowance to cohabiting couples who are not married is justified having regard to the provisions relating to marital status in the Equal Status Act, 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13656/00]
The Equal Status Act, 2000 was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 19 April 2000 and was signed into law by the President on 26 April 2000. It is my intention to bring the Act into operation in the coming months.
Under section 25 of the Act, it is a matter for the Director of Equality Investigations to investigate complaints of discrimination. Once the Act is in operation, a complaint of alleged discrimination, on any of the discriminatory grounds, may be made to the office of the director. Section 75(5) of the Employment Equality Act, 1998, provides that the director shall be independent in the performance of her functions. In the light of the independent role of the director in investigating complaints, it would not be appropriate for me to advise, in any individual case, on the possible application of the legislation to a particular service or as to whether one or other of the permitted exemptions in the Act might apply.
