I agree that it is a most important issue but surely Deputy Flood must agree it would not be possible for the entire responsibility to rest with the Department of Equality and Law Reform when one takes into account that there are many Departments and agencies involved. However, there is the interdepartmental group working on the report of the task force. It meets from time to time and examines the recommendations and the question of implementation among the Departments and agencies coming under the responsibility of individual Ministers and Departments.
It is open to Deputy Flood or, indeed, any Deputy to raise questions with any Minister with regard to his or her Department or, where that Minister has responsibility for agencies working under the Department's ambit, to examine the operation of equal status in the agency for which he or she has responsibility.
The Employment Equality Bill, 1996, and the Equal Status Bill, 1997, which are proceeding through the Houses of the Oireachtas, will have a major general input into the provision of equal status. The Equal Status Bill, 1997, will have general application. The Employment Equality Bill, 1996, has provision for equality reviews and action plans and gives powers to the new Equality Authority, which is to be set up under the provisions of the Equal Status Bill, 1997. That authority will play a major monitoring role and major powers will be devolved to it under these two Bills.
There is also provision for codes of practice on these issues and the legislation providing that will be particularly helpful. It may well be that codes of practice will be prepared which will provide rules for the application of equal status provisions to Departments and their agencies. All these things taken together are a positive sign and the two equality Bills, when enacted, will be a major source of progress in that regard.