Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Like the previous two speakers, I welcomed this Bill when it was first drafted and we saw the heads. The main omission, which I presume was a clerical error when it was first printed, was the admission that the advancement of human rights was a charitable purpose. I appeal to the Minister of State at this, the eleventh hour, to include the advancement of human rights in the Bill as a charitable purpose. I presume that we could, if so desired, recommit to deal with that omission. It is a serious omission because in other jurisdictions it is a given that the advancement of human rights is a charitable purpose.

The principle of equivalence which lies behind the Good Friday Agreement and which has directed much of our legislation in this area will be undermined because human rights advocacy is afforded charitable status in the North. Even though existing human rights NGOs will be protected, organisations established in the future to protect human rights will not be afforded charitable status. In addition, existing NGOs will encounter greater difficulties in raising funds because they will not meet the criteria set out in the legislation.

The Minister of State would not wish to be associated with a systematic and concerted assault on the human rights architecture of this State but the removal from the Bill of human rights advancement as a charitable purpose is seen by all who work in the field, and by many others, as part of just such an assault. Budget 2009 provided further glaring examples of this assault with the imposition on the Human Rights Commission of a 24% cut in funding and the slashing of the Equality Authority's budget by an incredible 42%. Rather than forcing the passage of this Bill and promising to address the issue at a later stage, I appeal to the Minister of State to delay its enactment in order to find a mechanism for fixing this major shortfall. Otherwise, my colleagues and I will probably have to oppose a Bill which has been welcomed for the most part. The attitude of the Minister of State and his officials to Opposition proposals has been quite positive thus far and they will have one more chance to address this issue by making changes to the amendments which we will discuss presently. We are happy to support the amendments currently before us, however.

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