Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 4, line 7, after "year" to insert the following:"with due regard of the State's equality and human rights obligations".

It was a very positive move that the programme for Government stated explicitly that decisions of public bodies would be taken with due regard to the State's equality and human rights obligations. This was a very important statement of political principle and political intent. If this is to mean anything, the same equality and human rights obligations need to be hardwired into the entirety of the budgetary process and decisions on expenditure ceilings. It is for this reason I have again tabled these amendments.

If the Government is serious, as it should be about honouring the State's equality and human rights obligations, then those very obligations must be knitted as a constituent part into the budgetary process, step by step. It should not simply be an add-on or a secondary consideration, or perhaps in some instances not a consideration at all.

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