Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Human rights and equality are core values of a modern republic. The founding vision of our State is built upon a commitment to the principles of equality and universally accepted rights. The Irish Human Rights Commission and Equality Authority have been to the forefront of advancing that vision in Ireland, often in adverse circumstances. This Bill, however, jeopardises that role. The amalgamation of the bodies is essentially based on financial considerations, rather than a strategic re-evaluation of how best to further the equality agenda. This is a dollar and dimes Bill, not a human rights one.

Fianna Fáil has a number of concerns regarding the proposed legislation. The Bill gives the Government significant control over the newly merged organisation, through a limited interpretation of human rights, control over membership and restrictions on what investigations the body can undertake. The move fails to recognise that the two bodies have separate and distinct, but complementary roles. The amalgamation will be detrimental to the respective missions and impinges upon the spirit of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that initiated the bodies. It remains to be seen whether the new body will cut mustard with the UN Paris principles of independence, despite the Minister's confidence.

The role of human rights and equality is a central one in public policy. It is important that the Government maintains a commitment to this pivotal concern and does not seek to covertly control the bodies set up to protect these rights in the State. Limited resources and constraints on freedom of action will tighten the Government's grip on the new body. The experience of the interim bodies and the independent panel for appointments does not bode well for future Government action with the body.

The Minister has pointed to international experience. However, the Irish situation involves the merger of two independent statutory bodies with clearly defined mandates that have both been active for more than a decade in Irish public life.

In light of this ingrained experience, the argument for integration is far weaker than other examples may indicate. There is no evidence for or against amalgamations internationally.

It is worth reflecting upon the work of the bodies and the role they play in public life before setting out how they should advance. The IHRC is entrusted with the oversight and monitoring of human rights in Ireland. It was founded as part of the Good Friday Agreement. This joint, cross-Border commitment to human rights as the cornerstone of the entire island was ratified by a vote on both sides of the Border. Human rights law in Ireland is drawn first and foremost from the provisions of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the fundamental law of the land. This is further complemented by EU law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights enshrined by the Lisbon treaty of 2009. The IHRC is watchdog for these important bulwarks of rights on this island.

The Equality Authority was founded in 1999 and is charged with combating discrimination on various grounds such as gender, sexual orientation race or religion. It has continuously fought the good fight for minority groups on the margins of society. There has been a steady rise in people contacting the IHRC, from 512 in 2011 to 614 in 2012, driven by a sharp rise in economic and austerity cases, accounting for a third of all cases last year. Civil and political rights accounted for 35% of cases, 212 cases, followed by economic, social and cultural rights cases, of which there were 203. The body also offers opinions on new laws from a human rights perspective. The Equality Authority deals with approximately 8,000 inquires per annum primarily focused on disability, gender and race discrimination. Combined, the two bodies' roles have a distinct part to play in ensuring Ireland adheres to the highest ethical standards and lives up to its international and domestic legal and moral obligations. This Bill casts a dark cloud over those roles.

The current structure fully adheres to Ireland's international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN's Paris Principles. The new body will have to be resubmitted for re-accreditation under the Paris Declaration. The UN Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions - the Paris Principles - are international principles that set benchmarks for national human rights bodies regarding their structures and functions to ensure effective, independent operation. They emphasise the need for complete independence and a broad interpretation of human rights which the body must be empowered to pursue. This independence is threatened by the limits placed on own-initiative investigations by the new body and the limited interpretation of human rights. We will be pressing to have this strengthened on Committee Stage.

Ireland is accredited with an "A" rating in accordance with the Paris Principles. This will be jeopardised in the upcoming review given the significant encroachment of the Government onto the IHRC's work with this piece of legislation. This Bill does not meet those fundamental requirements of an autonomous body pursuing human rights free of government interference and restraints.

Previous experience has shown that the Government is not committed to respecting the independence of the human rights and equality bodies. The announcement of the amalgamation came in September 2011 and has only now advanced to the legislative stage. That interim period was marred by hostility on the part of the Department of Justice and Equality that undermined the IHRC. Rather than uphold the autonomy of the IHRC, the Department systematically undermined it. The selection panel headed by former Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly was stood down by the Department when it sought to expand the criteria for selection of a chief executive of the interim commission. In a clear case of the Department exercising control over the organisation, the independent panel was firmly subjected to the demands of the Department which did not want certain personnel to apply. This sets a poor precedent for future relations.

Financial resources are vital to the ability of these bodies to do their job. This comes in the context of significant cuts and stagnation in funding until this year's increase. However the funding issue must be separated from the structural changes proposed in the Bill that threaten the independence of the body. Both the Equality Authority and IHRC experienced budgetary cuts in 2008. In November 2008, the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, announced cuts of 43% to the Equality Authority and 32% to the IHRC. As mentioned, these cuts were heavily criticised at the time. However the financial reductions reflected the severe budgetary constraints under which the country was operating. Most important the reductions did not directly impact upon the structural independence of the bodies and their organisational capacity to pursue their objectives. Fianna Fáil did not move forward with a proposed merger idea. The current Government did not address the issue and kept funding at that level until this year. Adequate resources are obviously vital to the proper functioning of these bodies. This should not be confused with organisational independence and integrity which ensure these bodies can do their job free of interference.

Human rights and equality are an expression of our best values, the fundamental principles of what we as a State strive to achieve. Having a strong independent watchdog to uphold them is integral to breathing life into them. The Bill jeopardises that. We will be using Committee Stage to strengthen its weakest provisions to ensure that human rights and equality are not sidelined and neglected by this Government.

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