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

This deals with the duties of public bodies and the cross-referencing needed as a result of the changes agreed in the Seanad. Amendment No. 5 is based on a proposal originally introduced by Senators Zappone and van Turnhout in the Seanad and I wish to acknowledge their work. The other amendments are mainly consequential changes in cross-references. The proposed amendments add something valuable to section 42, which introduces a positive duty on public bodies to have due regard to human rights and equality and reflects a commitment in the Government’s programme for national recovery 2011-16, which states: "We will require all public bodies to take due note of equality and human rights in carrying out their functions."

The commission will assist public bodies to comply with the positive duty, including by producing guidelines and codes of practice as outlined in section 31. The Seanad amendment allows the commission, in situations where it is justified and reasonable to do so, to invite a public body to undertake a review or develop and implement an action plan in respect of a failure by that public body to comply with its statutory human rights or equal treatment obligations. This new provision has the potential to allow the commission and public bodies to work together in a positive way to solve problems before they become crisis situations. The assistance the commission can offer includes training and both the existing bodies, the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission, have been active and successful in the area of training. I pay tribute to the work of both bodies. This allows them to work with bodies where a problem has been identified. The organisation must have good reason to decide to do so but it offers potential for positive engagement to deal with an issue where it is identified by the body or the commission and put in place a proper equality plan.

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