Ms Rebecca Gorman:

I thank the Chair for inviting the Add the 10th Alliance to appear before the committee. We are really grateful for the opportunity.

The Add the 10th Alliance of civil society organisations is calling for the inclusion of socioeconomic status as a tenth ground in our equality legislation. It must be added at this stage in order to be included in the final agreed Acts. Discrimination against people facing socioeconomic disadvantage is a rising concern for communities across Ireland. A CSO report from 2024 shows one in five adults has experienced discrimination. In the context of this group, 17% of discrimination was based on socioeconomic status. The figure rose to 27% when people were looking for work. It is the most common ground for discrimination reported in health services and with An Garda Síochána. Unlike with the other nine protected grounds, there is no legislation in place to allow people to seek redress when they encounter this type of discrimination. It is highly unfair that people are not protected against one of the most common forms of discrimination in Ireland.

The impact of this on people’s lives and dignity is very clear. It is a collective experience in disadvantaged communities and is experienced intersectionally by people who face other forms of discrimination. Not being included as a ground also means socioeconomic status is not covered in other proactive policy measures. We should be proud of having robust protections in our society the aim of which is to leave no one behind. Now is the opportunity for the committee to realise that aim and add socioeconomic status into our legislation as a ground for discrimination.