Vol. 564 No. 5
86 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the recent call made by the Equality Authority in its document, Building an Intercultural Society, for the recruitment of members of minority ethnic groups to the public service; the steps he intends to take to facilitate such a recruitment programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9728/03]
The Equality Authority's report "Building an Intercultural Society" recommends that organisations should consider actively recruiting staff from black and minority ethnic groups to posts in the public service.
The equality unit in my Department, which has general responsibility for equality issues in the Civil Service, is aware of this recommendation and will be taking it into account in the development and implementation of policy.
As the Deputy will be aware, Civil Service policy in this area is set out in Diversity in the Civil Service, a policy on equality of opportunity covering all nine grounds under the Employment Equality Act 1998, which I launched last year. The policy firmly commits the Civil Service to ensuring equality of opportunity across all the human resource management areas, including recruitment, for all members of our society. This approach is in line with best practice in human resource management and also with the statutory obligations placed on employers by the Employment Equality Act 1998.
