Ms Eilis Barry:

The number of claims brought at the moment is quite low. Without information and advice they will remain low, if those elements are not improved. What would be really important is the setting up of a dedicated equality unit within the WRC and some of the adjudicators developing a particular expertise in equality. That does not involve huge resources. I am sure Ms Walsh would be more than capable of training up the adjudication officers. It is really about enhancing the WRC's visibility and ensuring it is accessible. There have been an awful lot of complaints about the complaint form not being accessible. The commission has changed it, so there is now a separate complaint form under the Equal Status Act, but again it is only available online. There are very simple things that can happen, such as training some of the adjudication officers to specialise in the area of equality, having a dedicated unit that deals with it and then looking at all the procedures to ensure it is much more accessible to make a claim.