Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There was a long discussion about this issue on Committee Stage when the arguments were put to the Deputy about why the Bill was not doing what he suggests. The position remains that the text in amendment No. 2 is technically inappropriate for legislation. If the Government were to take forward actions on the lines suggested, these would either be matters for policy and allocation of resources or otherwise issues that would need to be addressed in legislation. However, one does not put into legislation that the Government should bring forward proposals that may require legislation. Instead, we just get on with implementing the policy programme of the Government of the day and where this requires legislation, such legislation is brought forward.

In this case, as the Deputy said, we are merging the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission. My predecessor consulted the then Northern Ireland Secretary of State around the time this proposal was announced. I can assure the House that there are no adverse implications for our commitments under the Good Friday Agreement or for our relationship with Northern Ireland.

Equivalence of protection relates to substantive human rights law and not to questions of institutional structures, which will always operate differently in different jurisdictions. Our body of human rights law under our Constitution is at least equivalent to that which exists in Northern Ireland. In that regard, the proposed amendment is devoid of substance. I do not agree with the basic points the Deputy is making in the amendment.

The merger will create a body that is greater than the sum of its parts. It will be better equipped by this Bill, once enacted, and by the additional staff and financial resources that have been put in place for 2014, to protect both human rights and equality rights in a cohesive way. The extra funding of €2 million for staff in 2014 shows that the extra support is there for the new commission.

While I acknowledge there is a change and there are different points of view on the changes being enacted, the goal is to have a very strong regime for the protection of human rights. The merger will create a body that is greater than the sum of its parts and that will be very well equipped to deal with the issue the Deputy rightly raised, namely, the importance of human rights both North and South.

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