Seanad debates
Thursday, 12 December 2002
National Tourism Development Authority Bill, 2002: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage.
It is true that, under the Equal Status Act, there is provision for an exemption from the terms of the legislation in so far as they apply to discriminating on gender or any other grounds. One of those exemptions relates to a club which is for the use of one gender. It is not a matter for me nor for anybody here to interpret the legislation; that is a matter for the courts. I could not say at this point what way such a case would go. Prima facie, there is no doubt in my mind that to exclude people from a club on the grounds of gender alone seems discriminatory. The question as to whether a court would hold that the exemption applies would be a matter for the court.
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