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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 Jun 2001

Vol. 539 No. 2

Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Issues.

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

150 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the mechanisms in place with Northern Ireland to support exchange of experience and knowledge on equality matters; the lessons learned from the Northern Ireland experience which is informing policy development here; and the joint initiatives which are in place or planned. [19136/01]

The importance of the equality agenda in both Northern Ireland and here in the South has been acknowledged by the inclusion in the Good Friday Agreement of commitments in relation to equality although as the Deputy is aware there are no joint North-South bodies in relation to equality. A number of mechanisms have been put in place to support exchange of experience and knowledge in relation to equality issues. In addition informal contacts take place between Northern and Southern officials for the purposes of sharing knowledge and experience.

As recommended in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, my Department convened a working group on equality proofing in October 2000 to provide an ongoing focus on equality proofing issues. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is represented on my Department's equality proofing working group.

As the Deputy may be aware, section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act, 1998, places a statutory requirement on public authorities there to conduct equality impact assessments of their policies. Given that in Northern Ireland a statutory duty has been laid down in this area while, in this jurisdiction, a non-statutory approach is being adopted, I believe fruitful comparisons can be made. It is an area where I hope that my Department and the Equality bodies here can benefit from the experience of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. Strategies for exchange of experience and joint action on equality proofing on a North-South basis would thus make a significant contribution to the learning required for us to progress equality proofing.

In December, 2000, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland commenced a project to prepare accessible practical guidance on equality impact assessment for use by public authorities, voluntary and community organisations, trade unions and other bodies in Northern Ireland affected by the statutory duties. My Department participated in the Equality Commission's advisory group which assisted on this project and an officer of my Department attended the periodic meetings of the group.

The NDP gender equality unit in my Department, which supports gender mainstreaming of the NDP, has played a lead role in setting up a "celtic fringe" network of those working to mainstream policies in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. This network includes representatives of our NDP gender equality unit and the Equality Authority and of the Equality Commission and gender policy unit in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland. This network aims to exchange experiences and develop best practice in relation to mainstreaming between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the other regions involved. This network has already met once and is setting up an e-mailing list to facilitate exchange of information between participants. Future work together may include a publication outlining best practice examples of mainstreaming, and a conference on implementation of mainstreaming.

Under the "equality for women" measure of the NDP I have approved funding for a project to build capacity and strengthen networking among women's NGO's to support the involvement of diverse women in the context of the Beijing Platform for Action on gender equality and within a human rights framework generally.
My Department is planning to work with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland on an initiative concerning the male-female wage differential.
The Equality Authority and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland have agreed themes for co-operation. These are: mainstreaming equality; the integrated equality agenda; EU Structural Funds allocation.
A separate chapter in the strategic plan of the Equality Authority is dedicated to this co-operation.
Both bodies have established a joint working group to progress this co-operation. This involves the chairperson and chief executive of each body.
A first joint venture of the two bodies was launched in Belfast on the 25th of this month. This is a research project examining the most effective ways of managing and bringing forward a multi-ground equality agenda. The research will help set an agenda for future joint work in this area as well as establishing a common framework within which each body will be developing its work.
The new EU EQUAL Community Initiative which was launched in Ireland earlier this month addresses discrimination and inequality in the labour market. It gives some priority to ensuring mainstreaming of the lessons for policy and provision in this area from the projects to be selected. Mainstreaming is identified as having a North-South dimension and the Equality Authority and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland are identified as key actors for this mainstreaming. They are currently exploring how most effectively to approach this task together.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is represented on the Board of the National Consultative Committee for Racism and Interculturalism, NCCRI.
The NCCRI has worked in partnership with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and with community organisations such as NICEM, Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, to develop a North/South dimension to addressing racism. Outcomes of this process to date include: the hosting of a North/South roundtable on racism in Dundalk in 1999; the publication of an approach to developing anti-racism strategies on a North-South basis in partnership with the Equality Commission, NI, "Developing a North/South Agenda for Anti-Racism and Racial Equality Strategies"; a co-ordinated North-South approach to International Day Against Racism in 2001, with over 50 initiatives organised by Government and Non-Government agencies; and the publication of "Raising Awareness – Diversity and Racism", an anti-racism education pack for schools developed jointly by NCCRI and the Equality Commission, NI.
The Office of the Director of Equality Investigations has issued invitations to the Presidents of the Industrial Tribunals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England and Wales to participate in a North-South-East-West forum to discuss items of mutual interest. The President of the Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland has already indicated his agreement to participate in such a forum.
In addition to these mechanisms, other exchanges of knowledge and experience take place from time to time, for example, officials from my Department, the Director of Equality Investigations and the Equality Authority participated in a function for equality bodies organised in Belfast in June 2000 by the British-Irish secretariat. Senior Officials from my Department and a Senior Official from the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister recently addressed the North-South Implementation Bodies in Armagh in relation to equality legalisation in place in Northern Ireland and here in the South.
The Director of Equality Investigations and the chief executive officer of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland have had a number of meetings to discuss items of mutual concern. There is also significant informal contact between the two organisations, including visits by staff members.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland receives copies of all decisions issued by the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations. The office of the director monitors equality decisions from Northern Ireland Tribunals, where these are made publicly available. These are accorded persuasive status where appropriate.
I am confident that the mechanisms that have been put in place together with the informal contacts between officials responsible for equality matters on the island of Ireland are resulting in mutual benefit in the area of equality.
The issue of religious and political discrimination is of course of major significance in Northern Ireland. This is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs who maintains regular contact with the British Government on the matter through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Belfast.
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