Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a republican party, a commitment to fighting discrimination in all forms is a core value for us in Fianna Fáil and we support the principle behind this Bill whose central provision is to amend section 37 of the 1998 Employment Equality Act. At present, this section allows schools to discriminate against LGBT teachers on the grounds that it is against the ethos of the school. In 2012 Fianna Fáil published its own Employment Equality (Amendment) Bill which also sought to amend section 37 of the 1998 Act to ensure that schools would no longer be allowed to discriminate against gay, lesbian and bisexual teachers.

We believe this exemption under the 1998 Employment Equality Act needs to be amended to ensure no teacher is discriminated against on the grounds of his or her sexuality. While the current exemption clause in employment legislation for religious institutions is rarely if ever used, the need to amend the law is important as it will finally end the chill effect experienced by gay employees working in schools, hospitals and other institutions which have a religious ethos. While some feel the provisions in the Bill on section 37 do not go far enough, we accept the Government is getting legal advice to the effect that this Bill is as far as it can go under the Constitution. It is a first step in the right direction and we will wholeheartedly support the Bill. However, there continues to be concerns for employees in private institutions and we will table amendments on Committee Stage in that regard. This is a complex area where the rights and freedoms of various groups are competing with each other and it is essential that we strike the right balance.

Fianna Fáil has a strong record in equality legislation in this country. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, as Minister for Justice, introduced the legislation which decriminalised homosexual acts in 1993. In subsequent Governments, we introduced the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Human Rights Commission Act 2000. We enacted the Civil Partnership Act and campaigned for marriage equality in the recent referendum. In May 2012, Fianna Fáil introduced legislation to prevent schools and hospitals from being able to discriminate against gay, lesbian and bisexual staff. The Government voted down the Bill after then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, said he was unsure if the Bill would be able to pass "constitutional muster".

It is proposed to amend section 37(1) of the 1998 Act to ensure that schools will no longer be permitted to treat staff or potential staff differently simply because of their sexual orientation or marital or civil status. In addition to protecting LGBT teachers, our 2012 Bill also sought to prevent discrimination against teachers who are separated, divorced or unmarried with children. It also aimed to protect such employees in other sectors, such as in hospitals under religious management.

Under our 2012 Bill, schools and hospitals would still be entitled to insist that staff members demonstrate respect towards the ethos in the workplace and not actively seek to undermine it but they would not be able to dismiss or discriminate against conscientious employees just because they did not approve of their lifestyle. Religious institutions would still be allowed to require that staff uphold the religious ethos of the institution. In doing so, we proposed that religious bodies would still be permitted to require certain standards of behaviour and adherence to and promotion of their particular ethos. In that sense, the religious institutions may still require loyalty to their ethos and insist that staff members do not take steps to undermine that ethos. In doing so, however, the institutions in question would not be permitted to treat staff members differently simply because the staff member is gay, lesbian or bisexual or because the person is or is not married, in a civil partnership, divorced, separated or widowed. Thus a staff member could still be required to demonstrate respect towards the ethos and not actively seek to undermine that ethos, but could not be penalised simply because of his or her sexual orientation.

Under equality legislation, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee or potential employee on grounds including gender, civil status, family status and sexual orientation. However, section 37(1) of the Act provides an exemption for religious, educational or medical institutions under the direction or control of a body established for religious purposes.

It is widely considered that this section could be used to justify discrimination against an employee simply because he or she is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, separated, divorced, cohabiting outside marriage or an unmarried mother. Some people state this is a hypothetical problem and question whether such discrimination, even though it is legal, could take place. However, Members are aware it has taken place.

I wish to make a few comments on some of the existing challenges. The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, and the teacher unions believe section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act is causing real problems for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, LGBT, teachers. GLEN states that as a result of this provision, employees or prospective employees, whose lives may possibly be interpreted to be contrary to the religious ethos of some faiths, have lived in fear for their jobs and their prospects within employment. Members have heard some speakers in the debate earlier this evening give their own personal accounts to verify this point. GLEN acknowledges that no case has been taken under the Act but points out it serves as a daily chill factor for LGBT teachers. Employees and potential employees of religious-run hospitals are in the same position. Dr. Leslie Hannon of Gay Doctors Ireland stated, "the weight of laws like these impress upon gay doctors the type of self-censorship and 'discretion' that enable and propagate homophobia in general, simply because they serve to downsize us and make us invisible”. This a fairly strong comment that speaks for itself.

Other speakers have mentioned the track records of their own political parties in this Dáil and previous Dáileanna with regard to the types of issues under discussion this evening. In this context, I will restate my party's position on a number of legislative items that have been enacted over the years. Fianna Fáil in government enacted the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 and the principle subsequently was extended into the area of broadcasting to further copper-fasten protection against the proliferation of hateful material. As I mentioned previously, the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993 was pioneered by the then Minister for Justice, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. It is noteworthy that around that time, in May 1993, the Sunday Presspublished an opinion poll indicating that 50% of people were opposed to a change in the law and some conservative groups mounted a vocal opposition to what they described as "teenage buggery". Many Members will remember that at the time, this was the type of opposition mounted against the legislation by some campaigning groups but that legislation was enacted, and rightly so.

As Members are aware, the Employment Equality Act 1998 contains the issue they are addressing this evening. However, that Act, which brought in measures to prevent discrimination in employment on grounds of sexual orientation, has provided much that is positive to society. Similarly, Fianna Fáil initiated the Equal Status Act 2000 and civil partnership legislation in 2010. Moreover, my party was happy to support the marriage equality referendum and was to the forefront, along with all the other political parties in this House, in ensuring the passage of that momentous referendum.

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