Vol. 536 No. 1
141 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will supply the list of legislation and the sections therein which must be amended in order to comply with Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 and Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13331/01]
The two EU directives cited by the Deputy have been adopted by the EU Council of Ministers pursuant to Article 13 of the treaty establishing the European Union, which allows the Union to take action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. The first directive, the "Race" Directive-2000/43/EC, binds member states to implement the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin; the second directive, the Employment and Occupation Directive-2000/78/EC, establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Under the Employment Equality Act, 1998, and the Equal Status Act, 2000, discrimination on the grounds covered by Article 13 is already prohibited.
Article 16 of the race directive fixes 19 July 2003 as the date by which member states shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative procedures necessary to comply with that directive. In the case of the employment and occupation directive, the date as fixed by Article 18 of that directive for its implementation by member states is 2 December 2003, with an extension possible, to take account of particular conditions, until 2 December 2006 to implement the directive's provisions on age and disability discrimination.
Both directives are being examined by my Department with a view to transposition. The extent of amendments to current Irish legislation needed to give effect to the directives is under consideration. At this stage, I am not in a position to give details of the precise amendments to be made.
