I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him on his recent happy news.
It is only a few weeks since the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, introduced his first budget. The financial climate both nationally and internationally is bleak and one understands the necessity for cutbacks. Some of the measures outlined were insensitive, such as the removal of the universal entitlement to medical cards for the over 70s and the universal 1% levy. These have been remedied. However, by far the most sinister cuts were those whose impact was not immediately obvious. I refer to the deliberate and specific hobbling of virtually every agency in the State representing the marginalised and disadvantaged. The Equality Authority, the Combat Poverty Agency, the Irish Human Rights Commission and others have been selectively targeted and victimised. In some cases, there is no saving in so doing. In others, the savings are minimal but the very efficiency and relevance of these agencies has been effectively destroyed. This is the dagger under the cloak. Having reviewed the situation in detail, I have no doubt these groups are being punished because they were troublesome to the Government and, in particular, because they criticised the operation of Departments.
This whole sorry business calls into question the Government's commitment to equal rights for the citizens of this State and human rights in general. The Combat Poverty Agency has been abolished in circumstances where there can be no question whatever that there will be a massive increase in poverty levels in this State. In these conditions, the agency should have been strengthened. Instead of acting to protect the poor and the disadvantaged, the Government has ensured they will be left virtually powerless. Moreover, the absorption of the lifeless corpse of the Combat Poverty Agency into the office for social inclusion, which effectively means its absorption into the Department of Social and Family Affairs, means it will lose its critical independent aspect. There is no doubt in my mind this was the specific intention of the Government.
The Government must take several steps as a minimum requirement. The board of the Combat Poverty Agency must remain in place until the roles, remit and structures of a new and strengthened division is agreed and the board's responsibilities as an employer are satisfactorily met. The Minister must give an undertaking for a consultation process with the social partners and other key stakeholders on the formation of a new division. There must be an explicit focus on poverty in the new division. It must be empowered to undertake and publish research and policy analysis, support and evaluate programmes and initiatives to reduce and eliminate poverty, and promote an understanding of poverty and ways to tackle and build social inclusion.
A parallel and even more swingeing attack has been made on the Equality Authority. The overall departmental cut was 4% as against 2008. However, the budget of the Equality Authority has been slashed by a massive 43%. Moreover, it is unique in being targeted for further participation in the discredited decentralisation programme. Fifteen staff are already situated in Roscrea, but many of these are not original members of the Equality Authority. In order to get the numbers right, people were reallocated within Departments. The same is likely to happen with the additional 15. There will be 30 people in Roscrea with little or no professional acquaintance with the equality legislation in a building that does not have disabled access. This is a disgraceful farce and one that is likely to lead to wastage and inefficiency instead of budget savings.
Why is this happening? Again, this is an agency that has been critical of the Government. The figures are revealing. Departments, State agencies, local authorities and educational institutions made up 54% of the case files under the Equal Status Act in 2005, 60% in 2006 and 69% in 2007. There is no question that the Equality Authority lived up to its responsibility to be a critical voice. For this reason it has been neutered. The Equality Authority itself has concluded that budget 2009, if fully implemented, may render it unable fully or effectively to carry out the full range of its core functions under the equality legislation and relevant EU directives.
In the past, the Government has ignored or treated with contempt decisions made by the Equality Authority with which it was uncomfortable. A classic example is in the case of a same-sex couple who applied for equal transport rights with opposite-sex couples, married or unmarried, as granted by a particular firm. The firm's refusal to make this provision was found to be a gross discrimination and violation of the Equality Act. The Government, however, acted not to correct this discrimination but to copperfasten it by introducing legislation to redefine the word "spouse" in order to negate the rights of same sex couples.
Also under attack is the Irish Human Rights Commission. This is a quite astonishing piece of political brigandage. The Irish Human Rights Commission was established in concert with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. It was intended to be in direct tandem with and parallel to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. By acting in the manner it acted, the Government has violated all its commitments under this Agreement and effectively rendered the Human Rights Commission incapable of carrying out its remit.
Like the Equality Authority, the Human Rights Commission has been subject to cuts that are quite disproportionate when viewed in the light of other cuts even within the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Under these cuts the Human Rights Commission will be unable to pay staff, salaries and basic operational costs. In a statement the Commission said to the press that, "A cut of the scale proposed would leave the Irish Human Rights Commission completely unable to perform its function. It would put its survival in doubt." In July of this year the United Nations explicitly called on the Government to strengthen the independence and capacity of the IHRC by giving it adequate and sufficient resources to do its job properly for the Irish people. Look at how the Government responded. The work of the commission is critical, especially during this difficult financial time. The Government's action is also in violation of the expressed wish of the people of Ireland, North and South, who gave their full backing to the Good Friday Agreement under which the Human Rights Commission was established.
In October, I attended the headquarters of the Irish Human Rights Commission in central Dublin for the launch of its report. The chairman at that meeting was optimistic and, in fact, was calling for further work to be entrusted to the Human Rights Commission. This indeed may be a way for the Government to allow the Human Rights Commission to survive by providing it with extra work in a clear example of a productivity agreement. The chairman on that occasion expressed the desire that the commission should be used by the Government to human rights proof proposed legislation. This would be valuable, helpful and an efficient use of the commission. There is also a role for the commission to play in monitoring international covenants, conventions and agreements such as the disability convention and the convention on torture. Additional funding could be afforded in return for work undertaken in this area, thus guaranteeing the survival of this important body.
This country is not unique in facing the economic crisis. However, to our shame, it is unique in specifically and savagely targeting those bodies which protect the rights of the weakest members of society. I bring to the Minister's attention the opening paragraph of a statement issued in Paris on 16 November, two days ago, at the European Disability Forum, which states:
The European Disability Forum which is the voice of more than fifty million European people with disabilities, calls on the European Council, Commission and Parliament and other European institutions and all the Governments of Europe to ensure disabled people and their families do not pay for the world wide economic crisis by the reduction in their income, benefits, employment opportunities or in cuts in support to our representative organisations.
It remains to be seen whether this Government has the moral capacity to respond positively to that call.