Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I am tempted to say many things in response to the pronouncement of Deputy Ó Snodaigh but they are better left unsaid. I do not accept that there are any significant shortfalls in equality legislation in this part of the island in comparison to Northern Ireland. I reject completely the proposition made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh. We have in place effective and established protections which provide for and promote equality in the workplace, in the provision of goods and services and on nine discriminatory grounds, namely, gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. We have legislation underpinning this framework, which I have outlined in my reply. The scope of our equality legislation is broader than the equivalent in Northern Ireland — there is no argument about that.

The essence of the point made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh is that any initiatives introduced in Northern Ireland should automatically be introduced here. I reject that proposition outright.

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