Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 February 2013
666. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the measures in place to remove the ethos-based exemptions from the Employment Equality Act that allow for medical, religious and educational establishments to discriminate against their employees based on their sexual preference. [4077/13]
View answerThe Deputy refers to the provisions of Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998, designed to allow schools and other institutions to maintain their religious ethos. I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Questions, No. 54456 of 4 December 2012 and No. 2999 of 22 January 2013. The position is unchanged since then.
The Government has undertaken in its Programme for Government to ensure that people of non-faith or minority religious backgrounds and publicly identified LGBT people should not be deterred from training or taking up employment as teachers in the State.
I have previously expressed concern about the potential impact of section 37 of the Employment Equality Acts on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. This section is designed to allow schools and other institutions to maintain their religious ethos. It was examined by the Supreme Court in 1996 when the Employment Equality Bill of 1996 was referred to it under Article 26 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court found that it is a reasonable balancing in legislation of the different rights involved, including chiefly the right to earn a living and the rights to freedom of religion and association. I am concerned however that, in practice, the balance is not a fair one and that in practice this provision can operate in a way that is unfair to LGBT persons. I consider that an extensive consultative process and formal assessment of the options should be undertaken. It is therefore my intention to ask the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commissioners to examine the issue as a priority and to report on their views and recommendations to the two Ministers centrally concerned, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn and myself as the Minister for Justice and Equality and to the House. I am committed to bringing forward Government proposals for any necessary anti-discrimination amendment to this provision once this consultation process is completed.
