Vol. 408 No. 7
44 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent report of the Fair Employment Commission in Northern Ireland which suggests that members of the minority community have too few of the top jobs there.
The report by the Fair Employment Commission —A Profile of the Workforce in Northern Ireland— provides a valuable, up to date picture of the situation as regards employment in Northern Ireland. This is the first such report by the Commission and it will serve as a useful basis for assessing progress in achieving equality of opportunity.
A number of the conclusions which can be drawn from the report give cause for concern. Among these is evidence of under-representation of members of the Catholic community at management and administrative levels in both the public and private sectors, in many areas of district council employment including at management and administrative grades and in certain key areas of the private sector such as financial services, the energy and water supply industries and the engineering industry.
These conclusions underline the need for effective measures to ensure equality of opportunity for all. The Government welcome the 1989 Fair Employment Act as a serious attempt to respond to the problem of discrimination. The test of the Act's effectiveness will be the speed with which it brings about real equality in the labour market.
