Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This time last year Fianna Fáil published the Employment Equality (Amendment) Bill 2012, which was designed to end the situation whereby under Irish law religious-run institutions may be able to discriminate against employees, or potential employees, solely on the grounds of their being lesbian, gay, bisexual, an unmarried mother, separated, divorced or cohabiting outside marriage.

The Minister of State will be aware that the possibility of such discrimination is a source of real fear and unhappiness for LGBT people in particular, such as teachers and doctors and other staff, many of whom feel the need to hide something as important as their sexual orientation from their colleagues and go to work every day pretending to be somebody they are not.

When I published the Bill last year, I immediately wrote to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, as the Minister directly responsible, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, from an education perspective expressing my desire that we would be able to work on this issue on an all-party basis and agree to make progress on it. I also made clear to both Ministers in my initial correspondence and in follow-up contact with them and their advisers that I would accept any amendments which they or their legal advisers felt were necessary to improve the text that would deliver on the principle of the Bill and end the discrimination. Therefore, I was deeply disappointed when the Government chose to oppose the Bill on Second Stage in the Seanad. The reason I was disappointed was that so many teachers in particular had written very personal e-mails to me about what they had gone through and their desire to have section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 amended prior to the commencement of the next school year which was last September. Unfortunately not only was that opportunity missed but now at the end of February, I and many people are wondering if this opportunity will be taken before the next school year which is next September.

In rejecting the Fianna Fáil Bill last year, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, gave a number of commitments to this House. He stated that the Government accepted the principle of the Bill and would bring forward its own proposals early in the new year. He made this contingent on the finalisation of the amalgamation of the Human Rights Commission and Equality Authority and said that the new body would be tasked with developing proposals for Government to amend section 37(1). Ten months on from the debate on that Bill in this House which the Government voted down, not only have proposals not been brought forward, but the body to be tasked with developing the proposals has not even been set up. I am tabling this matter for discussion as I am seeking information on what the Government plans to do. Is it still intended to wait until the new human rights and equality commission is in place before commencing work in this area? Is there any hope section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 will be amended prior to the commencement of the next school year?