Vol. 531 No. 5
5 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the work of the Equality Authority to date; the numbers of referrals they have raised under the nine categories covered by the Equal Status Act, 2000; the number of cases processed to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5879/01]
The broad mandate of the Equality Authority, under the Employment Equality Act, 1998 and the Equal Status Act, 2000, is to work towards the elimination of conduct prohibited under the equality legislation; to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the matters covered under the Employment Equality Act and the Equal Status Act; to provide information to the public on the workings of the two equality Acts, the Parental Leave Act, 1998, the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 and the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995; and to keep under review the workings of the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 and the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 and the workings of the Pensions Act, 1990 as regards the principle of equal treatment.
The Employment Equality Act, 1998 came into operation with effect from 18 October 1999; the Equal Status Act, 2000 came into operation with effect from 25 October 2000. The authority is empowered to develop draft codes of practice for the approval of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and to conduct equality reviews and prepare action plans. It may conduct formal inquiries and, where it finds evidence of discrimination, it may direct that such discrimination be redressed. The authority may seek a High Court or Circuit Court injunction in respect of persistent discrimination and it has the sole right to initiate proceedings in cases of discriminatory advertisements, pressure on persons to discriminate and general policy of discriminatory practices. Under section 8 of the Equal Status Act, 2000, the authority, as well as a member of the public, may make application to the District Court for that court's determination that a particular private registered club has a discriminatory rule, policy or practice etc. contrary to the equal status legislation.
As at the end of January 2001, the Equality Authority had received over 2,150 inquiries under the Equal Status Act, 2000. The authority is now handling 90 equal status cases referred to it for advice by members of the public. The breakdown of the cases, under the nine grounds, is as follows: age, 18; disabilities, nine; family status, two; gender, four; marital status, nil; race, three; religion, nil; sexual orientation, three; and membership of the Traveller community, 51.
The Equality Authority is involved with 14 referrals to the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations and is currently providing representation in three of those cases. The question of representation in the remaining cases is currently under consideration by the Equality Authority. Of the 14 cases, seven relate to age, one to race, two to disability and four to the Traveller ground. One of the cases under the Traveller ground involves ten separate claimants in relation to one single respondent. The balance of 76 are currently being processed by the authority. That involves gathering further detailed information and providing legal advice to complainants prior to a decision being taken as to whether the authority will grant them legal representation.
Additional InformationThe Equality Authority's budget for 2001 is £3.669 million. Publications of the Equality Authority and of the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations, which give full details of the activities of both bodies, include the respective 1999 annual reports of the Equality Authority and of the Office of the Director, as well as the Equality Authority's Strategic Plan 2000-2002. Those publications are available in the Oireachtas Library.
Initiatives to date taken by the Equality Authority include: an anti-racism in the workplace week, organised jointly by IBEC, the Construction Industry Federation, the ICTU and the Equality Authority, which took place from 6 to 10 November 2000; preparation of a range of publications and videos to help people understand the equality legislation and the institutions established by the legislation – these are available in a range of formats and languages to ensure accessibility; advancing work in the preparation of codes of practice covering sexual harassment and harassment, access to public houses, hotels and restaurants and the operation of golf club membership – those are being prepared in consultation with all the relevant interests; preparing a programme of equality reviews and action plans to be funded under the national development plan; preparation of an anti-discrimination equality pack for the Irish Traveller movement; and an initiative as part of the quality customer service approach within the strategic management initiative of the Government. This has involved the preparation of a support pack to assist quality customer services officers to develop an equality dimension to their customer service action plans.
Why is the Government not supporting the work of the Equality Authority by bringing forward an anti-racism campaign? What initiatives have been taken to date to launch such a campaign? What money has been spent on it? Will the Minister of State give the House information on such a campaign and its current status?
A case was taken against Ryanair recently, which was found to be in breach of the Act, for which a fine of £8,000 was imposed. It appears ageism is a problem, given that ground is the second highest category on which cases are taken under the employment equality legislation. Has the Government any further proposals to address the problem of ageism and are any campaigns proposed in this area?
Why is the Government not supporting the work of the authority by introducing a disabilities Bill and a constitutional amendment on disability, a matter that was raised by Deputy O'Sullivan today?
The campaign was due to be launched this week by the Minister and the chair man, Joe McDonagh, but as the chairman was out of the country the launch will take place next week. A total of £4.5 million over a three year period has been allocated for it.
I dealt with the disabilities Bill in my reply to the previous question. The position is that anti-discrimination measures are in place. In preparing the disabilities Bill and perhaps in light of the experience of cases that come before the Equality Authority, issues may arise which we hope to develop as work on the disabilities Bill progresses. It is important the disabilities Bill, when published, will cover as much as possible in that regard.
A reply to a later question deals with the number of case referrals on the age ground, which I can check, but it is due to be dealt with later.
In the case brought against Ryanair, the Equality Authority, the complainant, was awarded £8,000 as compensation for the effective discrimination under sections 6(1) and 6(2)(f) of the Employment Equality Act. An equality officer found that Ryanair discriminated on the ground of age in a job advertisement for a director of regulatory affairs stating, “We need a young and dynamic professional”, implying that the ideal candidate would be young and dynamic. The advertisement was published in The Irish Times on 25 February.
The Equality Authority took the case in its own right on the grounds that the advertisement contravened the protection from discrimination provided for on the age ground under the Employment Equality Act. In addition to the compensation awarded, Ryanair was ordered to take a specific course of action, including a comprehensive review of its equal opportunities policies to ensure its policies are fully compliant with equality legislation, equality proofing of recruitment and selection guidelines and the publication of a statement of equal size and prominence to the offending advertisement, making a clear commitment to equal opportunities.
Case law will make the difference, irrespective of whether we are dealing with the age ground, the disability ground or any of the other grounds. We have witnessed that dating back to the 1970s in regard to the Employment Equality Agency.
Does the Minister of State have a comment on Ryanair's response to the finding against it, which gained it further advertising?
I do not know if it is appropriate for me to comment on it in that way except to say that, on sight of the advertisement, the Equality Authority was proactive in deciding to take the case. That type of action, of which we want to see more, from the Equality Authority raises these types of issues and draws to the attention of that and other companies what is and is not acceptable in law.
That advertisement that called for a young and dynamic person sounds like a job for myself or perhaps for Deputy Fitzgerald. One is as young as one feels.
I knew the Minister would not be able to resist that.
