John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

As I said, I condemn discrimination against women or discrimination of any kind. When Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I introduced the Employment Equality Act and the Equal Status Act which prohibited discrimination on nine grounds in regard to employment and the provision of services. Legislation to deal with discrimination is on the Statute Book. Under the Equal Status Act, the position is that the Equality Authority or, in the alternative, a member of the public, may make a complaint of discrimination to the courts in regard to any private registered club. If such a complaint is upheld by the courts, there is a ready made sanction provided for in the legislation which provides that the certificate of registration may be withdrawn. In turn, this means that the drinks licence attached to the club could be forfeited. This is a major sanction.