Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Deputy Andrews and I are sharing the time evenly. At the outset, I want to say that my thoughts are with DCI John Caldwell and his family. As a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I am acutely aware of the significant 25 years of peace on this island and the role of all of those who work to protect it. I welcome the statement from all party leaders in the North today.

I want to acknowledge the programme for Government's commitment to examine the introduction of a tenth ground for discrimination and the work that the Minister has done in the Equality Acts review. All the stakeholder organisations which engaged with the consultation process by the Department and who made submissions have endorsed this Bill as the best approach. In particular, I want to acknowledge the work of the Add the 10th Alliance and their member organisations: ATD Ireland, Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, AHEAD, iCAN, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, INOU, the European Anti-Poverty Network and the Independent Living Movement Ireland, ILMI. Without them leading the charge on this issue for the last 20 years, this debate would not be happening, and I acknowledge some of them are in attendance in the Gallery this evening.

As the Minister will know, the Equal Status Act and Employment Equality Act were flagships of their time and led the way for changing equality legislation throughout Europe. However, in recent years we as a State have fallen behind as 20 other European states have codified socio-economics as a ground for discrimination in law. Our laws have come a long way, and I acknowledge the strides that have been made, however this is one missing piece of the puzzle which I believe we must fill in.

Like myself, the Minister and other Deputies will regularly see people at their clinics who could potentially have been discriminated against on some of the grounds in this Bill. These include people who were rejected or ostracised because of the way they spoke, whether they had a job or not or the conditions they lived in. People are shamed and stigmatised for their socio-economic status in this country every day, yet one in every five people in this State is living either in consistent poverty or are at extreme risk of it. One in ten nine-year olds lives in cold, damp or overcrowded housing according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. In my constituency of Clare, 3,686 households received an additional needs payment in 2022, and 311 of those payments were made to people under 25. This is by way of painting the picture of additional needs of those households and not to say that there are not more in need.

What effect can stigmatisation have? The Add the 10th Alliance has put together a report with the voices of those who have experienced this type of discrimination front and centre. It is called, Does It Only Happen to Me? and I encourage every Member to read it. One of those contributors writes:

The stigma and shame of living in poverty actually hurts me when I’m walking down the street... I just wanted to highlight the massive link between being discriminated against, shouldering shame and stigma and the effect on mental health. It really hurts to the point where it can give you a mental health disorder, bringing the tenth ground could be a way to reduce depression and suicide.

This person hits the nail on the head when speaking about this issue. It is not just the shame and the stigma, but it is what those things to do to somebody's self-worth and mentality. That is the most significant thing.

This House working together to pass this Bill would send a powerful message to every household in this country that regardless of where you come from, how you speak, whether or not you are employed, and what level of education you have, that you matter; that you are a functioning member of society; that you are no better or worse than anyone else; and that you are equal. As lawmakers we have a solemn duty to protect people through the laws we create. Article 40.1 of our Constitution states that all citizens should be held equal before the law, but being held equal and feeling equal are two hugely different things.

This Bill commits to outlawing socio-economic discrimination on seven core bases. On poverty, Social Justice Ireland estimates that more than 670,000 people are living in poverty in Ireland, including 188,602 children. On source of income, in my constituency of Clare, the live register went up by 36% in the last year, the largest increase in the last decade. The inability of the State to provide jobs in an area and further add to generational poverty should not be a black mark against somebody in a job interview. On levels of literacy, according to National Adult Literacy Agency, NALA, on in six Irish adults is below point 1 on the literacy scale and may be unable to understand basic written information. That figure with respect to numeracy levels is one in four. On educational attainment, people who have completed primary school and ceased education are almost four times more likely to be at risk of poverty than those who complete a third-level degree, and those who ceased education at leaving certificate are twice as likely. On address, type of housing or homelessness, the Simon Community estimates that 290,000 people experience hidden homelessness in our State, yet we have no official numbers to confirm that. One in four of us is aware of hidden homelessness in our immediate circle. On employment status, according to Family Carers Ireland, 12.5% of our population over 15 are family carers, and many of them are full-time. In my clinic recently, there was a person who cared for a loved one for over 20 years and following their death tried to re-engage with the employment market unsuccessfully. It is wrong that providing a high level of care to a loved one and saving the State millions of euro should be viewed as a blank space on somebody's CV. Last, on social or regional accent, the way somebody sounds has nothing to do with their ability to perform a role. Nobody should be ashamed of where they come from, and nobody should have to hide or adjust who they are.

There is evidence of significant discrimination on the ground of socio-economic status in key areas such as employment, education and housing. The economic and financial crisis has exacerbated this discrimination and ensuing inequality. We have equality legislation that aims to be comprehensive in covering nine grounds. It must now include the tenth ground of socio-economic status if it is to meet any such aspiration.

See this speech in context