Opening Statement of Eilis Barry (FLAC Chief Executive) to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Equality Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024

I want to thank the committee for inviting FLAC to speak about this once-in-a-generation opportunity for equality.

We are acutely aware of:

• The limitations in the equality legislation, including gaps in its scope and grounds, procedural issues that make it difficult to make a claim, and the ineffective remedies especially in goods and services cases.
• We are also aware of the huge demand for information, advice and legal representation, in relation to this complex, convoluted and completely inaccessible legislation.

We are aware of this from the casework arising from our dedicated legal services for the Traveller, Roma and LGBTQI communities, our casework on behalf of people with disabilities, and the numerous NGOs that contact us all the time seeking advice and representation in equality cases.

We responded to the overwhelming demand for legal assistance in this area in three ways:

• Together with the Irish Network Against Racism, we trained a group of lay advocates to support people bringing cases on the grounds of race and membership of the Traveller community.
• We campaigned for better information, advice and legal representation services from the Legal Aid Board, IHREC and the WRC.
•  We campaigned for a comprehensive review of the equality legislation, and then worked with IHREC to support NGOs working directly with groups experiencing discrimination to engage with the review and to formulate law reform responses to address the barriers they face.

The significance of the General Scheme cannot be understated. While it requires improvement and expansion, it will be the most significant reform of the legislation in the last two decades. During that time we have seen a worrying rise in discrimination, prejudice and intolerance in this country. This requires strengthened equality legislation, which gives effect to our Constitution’s guarantee of equality before the law and EU requirements. Equality legislation is the expression and repository of our shared values of respect and dignity - values that underpin our belief in human worth. The ambition we bring to this legislation is a measure of our concern for creating and progressing a caring, inclusive and flourishing society.

Some of the measures outlined in the General Scheme have the potential to breathe fresh life into the prohibition of discrimination and to encourage the development of a culture of compliance with equality law. If enacted as it is currently drafted, the Bill will have a very positive impact, especially for Travellers and people with disabilities.

We particularly welcome the provisions providing for:

• significantly increased compensation,
• moving the jurisdiction for claims against licensed premises from the District Court back to the WRC, and
• greater accessibility in the process for making a claim, including through extended time-limits.

Some of the measures in the General Scheme need to be improved or expanded:

• The General Scheme should strengthen the positive actions provisions in the Equal Status Acts, as well as the employment equality legislation.
• Stronger reasonable accommodation provisions should apply to all providers of goods and services (not just public bodies).
• It should include further measures to simplify the discrimination complaint process, improve the supports for victims of discrimination and strengthen the equality mandates of IHREC and the WRC (as required by the new EU Equality Bodies Directives).

Gaps in the General Scheme should also be addressed, it should:

• Add grounds of disadvantaged socio-economic status and gender identity to the equality legislation.
• Ensure that the State, public bodies, key areas such as social welfare, social housing, healthcare, and the functions of the guards and the Irish Prison Service come clearly within its scope.

We have supplied the Committee with a detailed submission and we are happy to answer any questions.