Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2021
53. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the work programme of the Anti-Racism Committee; when the final report from the Committee will be published; the interim actions he is implementing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28448/21]
View answerThe National Anti-Racism Committee is an independent Committee established by Government in 2020. The work of the Committee will help to strengthen the Government’s approach to combatting individual and institutional racism and will build on the anti-racism actions included in the Migrant Integration Strategy (MIS) and the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS). The Committee will also examine international best practice in combatting racism and will benchmark its actions against these standards.
On 21 April this year, I had the pleasure of publishing the Anti-Racism Committee’s Interim Report, which sets out the Committee’s initial ideas and plans for developing the National Action Plan Against Racism. The publication of this Action Plan will fulfil a key commitment within the Programme for Government.
On the same day as the publication of the Interim Report, the Committee launched the public consultation phase of its work, which will run for twelve weeks from 21 April until 14 July 2021. During this phase, the Committee will hold a series of facilitated meetings with rights-holders and duty-bearers in order better to understand the nature and different forms of racism that are present in Ireland today. These meetings will address different themes which have identified by the Committee as being of particular concern in the fight against racism. The first meeting took place on 20 May and concerned issues surrounding Access to Justice. The second took place on 25 May and dealt with issues related to the Media and Communications, including new technologies.
These meetings will also help the Committee in the development of effective countermeasures against racism that will be included in the National Action Plan. During this consultation phase, members of the public will be able to present written submissions for the consideration of the Committee, which will play a significant role in the development of the National Action Plan. An online survey will also be made available shortly. The responses gained from this survey will be statistically analysed and will help the Committee to identify gaps in relation to current anti-racism measures.
A Consultation Report will be prepared by the facilitators for the consideration of the Committee in July, following the close of the Public Consultation phase. An analytical report on the responses to the online survey will also be prepared for the Committee and will be submitted for their consideration in August.
In addition to outlining its initial views with regard to developing the National Action Plan, the Interim Report also made three recommendations to the Government. These are as follows:
1. Remove Ireland’s reservation to Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD);
2. Take steps to put in place ethnic equality monitoring across all public services;
3. Remove all barriers to accessing support for migrant women experiencing gender-based violence.
With respect to Interim Recommendation One, together with the Minister for Justice, I will seek advice from the Attorney General to consider whether the removal of the reservation is now appropriate and timely and, if so, we will establish the steps that would be needed to remove it and advise a future meeting of the Government accordingly.
With respect to Interim Recommendation Two, I have begun work within the framework of the existing Equality Budgeting initiative being progressed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department and linking with the Equality Data initiative being led by the Central Statistics Office to bring forward an interdepartmental initiative on Ethnic Equality Monitoring.
With respect to Interim Recommendation Three, I will work with the Minister for Justice towards the following objectives:
- developing referral pathways that will include the designation of appropriate non-governmental organisations to act as intermediaries between migrant women who are victims of domestic, sexual or gender-based violence or abuse and relevant authorities, including the Gardaí, the HSE, and Tusla;
- ascertaining whether changes should be made to the level of evidence required to support an application for a change in immigration status by a victim of domestic, sexual or gender-based violence or abuse with a view to strengthening protections available to them;
- running an information and communication campaign to ensure all migrant women, including holders of Stamp 3 permits, are aware of the range of State services, including welfare supports and emergency refuge, available for victims of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence which they can freely access.
The drafting process of the National Action Plan will begin in the Autumn, and it is anticipated that the final draft will be submitted to Government before the end of the year.
