James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman and am delighted to get the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. Human rights, justice and equality concern themselves with the proper ordering of things and citizens within society. Equality and human rights are two sides of the same coin. One cannot block equality for people in society because all citizens deserve to be treated equally. This Bill will bring about a safer, fairer and stronger Ireland. I am in favour of tolerance and compromise when conflicts arise. Religious beliefs divided this country for too long. It is only in the past 20 years or so that we have come to recognise that religious belief is a matter of personal conscience, not a concern of government.

We all have natural rights and this Bill, when implemented, will work for the common good and will protect and promote human rights and equality.

In bygone days, to be free was not to be a slave with someone else having legal guaranteed control over one's person. This is still its essential meaning. To be free means that one is not prevented from doing what one wants to do and not forced to do what one dislikes doing. Any limitation of this twofold power is an interference with freedom and human rights. It may well be that to interfere with the freedom of some people prevents their interfering with somebody else and is, therefore, a guarantee of the latter's freedom.

This Bill will merge the Equality Authority and the Irish Human rights Commission. It is also a measure to streamline government by making it smaller, leaner and cheaper to run and giving better value to the general public from our scarce available resources. It will also end the overlapping roles of both bodies. Our programme for Government proposed getting rid of many of the overlapping agencies. This Bill recognises and seeks to implement an important judgment of the European Court of Human Rights by amending the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, to provide for an enforceable right to compensation for a person found to be unlawfully deprived of his or her liberty as a result of a judicial act. A smaller and more streamlined body will be able to more effectively and efficiently champion human rights.

When Fine Gael entered government we introduced important human rights legislation, the Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act, which protects home owners who use reasonable force in self-defence. This has provided legal certainty and clarity on the issue of home defence. It also put an end to the scenario of injured trespassers suing home owners. It provides that the home owner or occupant of a home is no longer obliged to retreat when confronting an intruder or trespasser. In my opinion, this is equally a human right for our people. We have brought legal certainty to an area where serious confusion existed. I was delighted that we acted on this issue when we came into government because up until 2012 the home owner was very vulnerable when faced with intruders. It is a basic human right to protect one's home and family.

The natural equality of men and women is one of the essential principles of natural law; no law is more fundamental than that of the natural equality of people. Natural equality is that which exists between all men by the very constitution of their nature. I was delighted to serve on the Constitutional Convention, which gave citizens a direct voice on a range of issues. I hope the convention's deliberations will bring about reforms to our Constitution, particularly in the areas of human rights and equality issues, all for the betterment of our society.

Natural equality is founded upon that human nature which is common to all humans who are born, grow, live and die in the same way. Therefore, each of us must treat others as equal to him- or herself. The consequence is that all men and women are naturally free; that we are to treat our inferiors in rank as our equals by nature; and that no one may claim any particular right above that right of others unless he or she has acquired it other than by birth or wealth. Equality means an absence of legal discrimination against any one individual, group, class or race. It means equal claims to a minimum standard of education, housing and food and a guarantee against economic insecurity - in other words, a recognition that there can be no difference inherent in nature between the claims of man and woman to happiness - and, especially, that no one person or group may be sacrificed to another.

As a human being I deplore the violation of human rights in any shape or form, whether it be here or in any other part of the world. As a politician my concern is focused on human rights issues and by extension I am fully supportive of the establishment of the democratic process around the world. I refer to conflict in the Middle East and the current situation in Ukraine. Democracy must reign in those areas.

In this historic week when the last remaining vestiges of dissent between Ireland and Britain are being put to rest, I do not propose to dwell on the causes or details of our 800 years of struggle for freedom in this country, particularly during the Famine years. State visits such as this highlight awareness of the civil, political, economic and social rights of those who were victims of human rights abuses over the centuries. It is essential that we have exchanges or visits such as this among leaders in order to address issues, including human rights issues and concerns, by encouraging better communications between nations. I thank the Minister, Deputy Shatter, for introducing the gender equality Bill, which provides that women and men have an equal right to participate in politics without discrimination. The gender quotas will bring more women into the political system, although my former constituency colleague, former Deputy Mary O'Rourke, would have disagreed with this measure. The concern of all free people must be to address the human rights and welfare of children, adults and all those who are exploited by the forces of war, oppression and wrongdoing.

See this speech in context