Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 27, inclusive, together.

Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 imposes a statutory obligation on public bodies in performing their functions to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and treatment for staff and persons to whom it provides services, and protect the human rights of staff and service users.

The Department has conducted and published its public sector duty equality and human rights assessment focusing on how the duty impacts on three main areas of activity, namely, services provided to the public, the Department's role in policy development and how the Department treats its own staff. It also contains a summary of potential gaps identified and the appropriate actions to be taken. These include a commitment to good customer service to ensure fair and equal consideration for all members of the public who contact the offices of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or Ministers of State; appropriate access to our offices by staff and visitors and to various State events run by the Department; improving the accessibility of government communications, including through the work of the Government Information Service; and equality of opportunity for all departmental staff in all of its employment practices. The assessment has been undertaken in line with guidelines published by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The assessment report is published and available to view on gov.ie.

The specific training requirements identified in the assessment will be incorporated in the Department’s learning and development strategy and progress on implementation will be set out in the Department’s annual report. The Department is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all staff, recognising that a diverse workforce helped by an inclusive culture can improve organisational capacity, boosting creativity and innovation and lead to better decision-making. The publication of the Department's first gender pay gap report in December 2022 helped to bring a specific focus on gender diversity and continue the alignment of our actions for improvement in gender equality as part of the broader work to enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in the Department.

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