Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill. It is a key deliverable of the public sector reform plan published in 2011 in terms of the streamlining of our State bodies. I acknowledge that the acting chairman designate, at the launch of the annual reports for 2013 of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission in November of last year, stated that it is a testimony to how far the process of combining the work of the two distinct organisations has progressed.

The Bill is an excellent example of the new pre-legislative scrutiny, a process by which the main themes of the Bill are published and then examined in a meaningful and helpful way through engagement and consultation with the public and civil society organisations. I pay tribute to the Minister on his work on the Bill and to my Oireachtas colleagues who sit on the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, chaired by Deputy David Stanton, who has just spoken and given a thoughtful, provoking speech and made a number of valid and welcome comments. The committee held substantive public meetings and heard from a wide range of interested parties before publishing a helpful report.

Originally the Irish Human Rights Commission was established following the Good Friday Agreement and it become the main body tasked with holding the State to account in terms of respecting human rights. Acknowledgement of the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights along with respect for these rights is the main characteristic of a civilised society. It differentiates our nation and those in Europe from nations elsewhere which continue to deprive and denigrate their peoples. It must be said that our State has not always respected and vindicated rights.

There is plenty of evidence which demonstrates that. Even today we do not always get things right, and we could do certain things better. However, the crucial difference between today and the past is the way we strive to uphold and vindicate the fundamental rights which are ascribed to people by virtue of being human.

The 2008 budget cuts of 43% to the Equality Authority and 32% to the Irish Human Rights Commission, IHRC, were astounding. All organisations had to contribute at such a time of financial instability and uncertainty but the levels of cuts were truly disproportionate. They were also implemented at a time when the temptation to save money without due regard to human rights was at its greatest.

It goes without saying that every TD in this House, and every TD who ever sat in this House, has been contacted by people who have been deprived of their rights. The TD's office is often seen as the last port of call for a person seeking to have their rights upheld. In this regard, I particularly welcome the measures that will seek to instill a culture of respect for human rights across public sector organisations. I hope that in time the necessity of appeals bodies, human rights watchdogs and others will be lessened because of this new culture.

I am aware of the concerns of some regarding the merger of the IRHC and the Equality Authority and the possible problems regarding the difference between equality and human rights. I appreciate these concerns but I also see the overlapping functions between the two previously separate organisations and I see an overlap between the concept of human rights and equality. If human rights are respected and vindicated fully among all citizens, then, in theory, inequality is not an issue and should not arise. Of course, everyday life is more complex than this. However, I believe that the work of both the IHRC and the Equality Authority through the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC can help foster a culture which delivers greater respect for human rights.

On the subject of delivery, I welcome the Minister's statement that the new IHREC will unequivocally keep faith with the Paris Principles - the peer reviewed accreditation for human rights commissions. I would hope and urge that in the review of the new organisation in terms of the Paris Principles that any shortcomings that are identified, which may affect the current "A" status which the IHRC has, will be addressed without delay. One of the main principles of the Paris Principles concerns adequate human and financial resources. While a sound legislative basis and a strong commitment at political level are essential, so too are resources. The IHREC can only be as effective as possible as long as it is properly resourced. In this context, I believe there will always be a tension, and a possible problem, when the organisation tasked with holding the Government to account on human rights and equality issues is financially dependent on that Government. Section 26, which covers funding, contains a commitment that such funding will be reasonably sufficient to allow the commission to fulfil its mandate. In straitened times there would be concerns that this budget would be greatly reduced, as occurred, as I outlined, in the 2008 cuts.

We should examine ways of linking the financing the new IHREC with an independent measure, for example, that the funding would always a percentage of GDP or GNP or would never fall below a certain minimum threshold. It is essential that the new IHREC receives the proper resources in order that it can carry out its very important work.

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