Vol. 563 No. 2
125 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way in which he proposes to respond to the third annual report of the Equality Authority which revealed widespread complaints of discrimination relating to gender, race and disability in the workplace and relating to members of the Traveller community in licensed premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7529/03]
The Employment Equality Act 1998 prohibits discrimination in relation to employment on grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. The Equal Status Act 2000 prohibits discrimination on the same nine grounds in relation to access to and provision of goods and services. The functions of the authority, which was established under the 1998 Act, are to work towards the elimination of discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity on the grounds and in the areas covered by the equality legislation.
The Equality Authority annual report for 2002, which the Minister launched on 6 March 2003, shows that in 2002 the authority received 10,978 general queries for information about equality and related legislation. Nearly half of the queries related to parental, maternity and adoptive leave entitlements. During 2002, the authority opened 532 new case files across all nine grounds. Those figures compare with a total of 752 new case files opened in 2001. Of the case files opened in 2002, 227 refer to the Employment Equality Act 1998 and 305 refer to the Equal Status Act 2000. With regard to the workplace, 88, or approximately 39%, of the new cases under the 1998 Act related to gender grounds, 43, or 19%, related to race grounds and 39, or 17%, related to disability grounds.
Discrimination in relation to employment on grounds of gender and marital status has been prohibited since the mid-1970s. It is somewhat disappointing, therefore, that gender discrimination in employment, and in particular pregnancy related discrimination and dismissals, appear as a significant issue in the cases that are dealt with by the authority. However, it is heartening that during 2002 women who were dismissed because of pregnancy successfully sought redress under the Employment Equality Act in the Labour Court. This sends an unequivocal message to employers that such discrimination will not be tolerated.
I note from the Equality Authority report that under the Equal Status Act access to licensed premises still constitutes by far the largest category of case work on hand. It is a significant and welcome development that the number of cases taken on by the authority in relation to the Traveller ground under the Equal Status Act dropped considerably from 340 in 2001 to 89 in 2002. This, perhaps, points to a maturing of attitudes on all sides in relation to this issue.
As the Equality Authority is empowered by the legislation to provide representation only where discrimination complaint cases have a strategic importance, I welcome the development by the authority, in conjunction with the Irish Traveller Movement, in 2002 of a model for community advocacy which allows community-based groups to take on a role in supporting cases under the Equal Status Act 2000. This role is similar to that played by trade unions under the Employment Equality Act 1998. According to their annual report for 2002 there now appears to be a greater willingness on the part of Travellers and publicans to resolve issues without recourse to a full hearing before the Equality Tribunal.
As the Deputy is probably aware, in December 2002 the Commission on Liquor Licensing presented its report on admission and service in licensed premises. Although it did not make recommendations for changes in equality legislation, it nonetheless made a number of suggestions arising from issues raised in submissions received by the commission.
Additional informationThe commission made it clear, however, that those suggestions requiring legislative changes would need further consideration and a wider consultative process. The Department is currently conducting such a consultative process with the interested parties, including the Equality Authority.
I am satisfied that the equality infrastructure put in place, on the coming into force of the recent equality legislation, is sufficiently resourced to respond to discrimination in our society whether in the workplace or elsewhere. On the establishment of the Equality Authority in 1999, significant increased resources were provided for the authority compared with its predecessor, the Employment Equality Agency. The Revised Estimates for the Public Services for 2003 show that the grant-in-aid for the authority for 2003 is €5.16 million. There are a total of 51 staff, including six job-sharers, serving in the authority at present. I am of the opinion that this level of resources is sufficient to enable the authority to carry out its statutory function to work towards the elimination of discrimination in our society.
I thought I would get a direct and specific response to my question but it is mere waffle. I did not want an account of the functions of the Equality Authority or of the report which I have in front of me. I wanted to find out what the Minister's response is to matters such as that three quarters of all complaints in regard to licensed premises come from the Traveller community. How will he respond to that? The Minister has told me he will codify the law in regard to liquor licensing. By the time that is done we will all be grey and ancient.
What is being done about migrant workers? There is a huge escalation in claims in regard to migrant workers and the recommendations of the authority. The authority cannot do all the work itself. How will the Government respond to actively deal with the discrimination in this area? We see that 30% of all complaints brought by women relate to gender grounds. The number of claims on the issue of race have increased enormously. Will the Minister of State specify how he will deal with the serious issues of discrimination that have been highlighted?
There is an echo of Deputy Deasy's approach here. Deputy Costello is quoting facts of life and asking what I am going to do about them.
There is an echo coming this way.
The Minister of State's reply is an echo of Ministers.
Deputy Costello will be aware, as someone who has been around for some time, that no Government can prevent people from discriminating. We have a whole body of criminal law which is backed up by a punitive system but people still commit crimes. We cannot physically stop people from discriminating. The question is basically meaningless.
We would love to know what the Minister of State is going to do. His answer is bankrupt and he has nothing to offer.
The Deputy asks what we are going to do about the many people who have been discriminated against. We have brought forward modern legislation, which is among the best in the world, to prevent discrimination. We inherited a situation from the previous Government, which included the Deputy's party, and have taken over an authority which was being funded to the tune of €700,000 a year. We have increased funding seven fold for that authority. The latest figure is €5.2 million and it now has a staff of 51. The legislation is in place and there is back-up from the Equality Authority. The legislation has only been in operation for the past two years but it is working. The fact that many people are coming forward and getting redress is indicative of that. In regard to the complaints taken under the Employment Equality legislation in 2002, only 30% of cases were successful.
We are over the time and must move on.
The Minister of State seems to think there is something wrong in us asking what the Government proposes to do about anything. One strong recommendation from the Labour Court mentioned in the report is that companies employing non-nationals recognise the difficulties etc. and make resources available to deal with the problems that—
It is not in order to quote during Question Time.
There is a full recommendation there. Perhaps the Minister of State will read it and do something about it.
My understanding is that the Labour Court is saying that employers should make resources available. We have this set of recommendations and are working on them. Despite the fact that we have legislation which is among the most advanced in the world, I am actively considering changes to strengthen the legislation. Those changes will be introduced within the next 12 months.
