Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday I listened to Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn opening the debate. In the course of his speech I received a text from someone in my office telling me to ask Deputy Emmet Stagg and other Labour Party Deputies whether they support the Bill. Unknown to me the person who sent the text had read the Labour Party's policy. I replied that I would ask. I listened to the arguments made by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and I was not impressed. I am impressed at Fine Gael's ability to put Labour Party Ministers and Minsters of State on the front line for contentious issues such as this. Yesterday it was Deputy Kathleen Lynch and today it is Deputy Seán Sherlock.

Essentially the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, said we cannot afford equality. From a Fine Gael Minister this would have been understandable because Fine Gael does not believe in equality, but the Labour Party’s stated policy is for equality proofing. By opposing this equality-proofing Bill Labour Party Deputies will vote against their party’s policy position. What is the value of the Labour Party in government if its only role is to bolster the conservative economic and social politics of Fine Gael?

As Deputy Pearse Doherty stated, the Labour Party’s founding father James Connolly is accepted as the principal author of that part of the Proclamation which guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities and the section which commits to cherish all the children of the nation equally. The fact is equality does not exist in this society. It is a republic in name only and the policies of the Government and of successive Governments have contributed directly to a growing inequality, particularly between the rich and the poor.

I am an Irish republican. I believe in a republican system of governance. I believe in a real republic in which the people are sovereign and equal and have all–encompassing rights, including economic rights, the right to a home, job and education, to a health service from the cradle to the grave, to a safe and clean environment and to civil and religious liberties. This is what republicanism and genuine democracy are about. They are about embedding equality into the daily life and experience of citizens. The imposition of equality duties and equality-proofing Government policies and budgets and public bodies through impact assessments are a means of achieving this and of dictating outcomes. Without this, equality will remain little more than a pipe dream.

It is a fact that inequality is all around us in this part of the island. It famously exists also in the North, but there it has the added dimension of generational, sectarian and political discrimination. Interestingly, the other parties here reference the continued existence of inequalities in the North as a pretext for attacking Sinn Féin. There is no logic, truth or rationale to this position. They quote poverty levels in west Belfast to justify their own position. They refuse to acknowledge the citizens of west Belfast, in common with other communities throughout the North, are tackling these issues on a daily basis and succeeding against the odds. It is because these citizens took a stand – they would be waiting a long time for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Labour Party to help them – generational and political discrimination are being tackled. In the Six Counties there are now equality protocols and equality-proofing of government policies, budgets and public bodies. If this is good enough for the North why cannot citizens in this part of Ireland have these rights?

Equality is cited 21 times in the Good Friday Agreement, including in the pledge of office for Ministers. The Government is co-author and guarantor of this Agreement. A complete section is given over to equality protocols, and legislation is designed to ensure equality in employment. We all live in a post-Good Friday Agreement Ireland. This is very obvious in the North but not so obvious here. It is catch-up time in this State and legislating for equality here must be a key part of this. This should include the charter of rights to which the Irish Government signed up 15 years ago.

Active discrimination against the Traveller community is totally and absolutely unacceptable. Apart from being ethically wrong, no person or community should be treated as second class or non-citizens. Equally is good and inequality is bad for society. Inequality is expensive and uneconomic. Sinn Féin’s equality legislation is about achieving a more equal and prosperous society, which is in everyone's interests.

If we consider the programme and record of the Government the need for this approach is obvious. The ESRI found the budget for 2012 had a disproportionate impact on the least well-off in society and this was repeated in the budget for 2013. Every day we see the removal of citizen’s rights and the reinforcement of privilege for the elites in society. Our Bill would require an equality impact assessment to prevent the implementation of unfair policies, which is why the Government opposes the Bill.

We also need equality for the Irish language and for rural Ireland.

I commend the Bill. I repeat what I said previously, that it will bring us in line with the North. I repeat also that it is official Labour Party policy as adopted at last year’s conference. I appeal to Labour Party Teachtaí Dála to stand by their own policy. They can forget about Sinn Féin. They should stand by their party's policy and vote for this Bill.

See this speech in context