Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch. I thank Senator Bacik for introducing the Bill, which we support. It is the outworking of the Bill that Senator Power tabled before Christmas. The Minister said something would emerge from it and Senator Bacik has now tabled the Bill before the House.

I wish to outline a few case studies. A person could not become a member of the Franciscan order without being ordained. That is clear. No discrimination is involved. However, a person applying for an office job with the Franciscan order could be discriminated against if he or she were refused the job on the basis of his or her sexuality or personal circumstances. That is the category of religious institutions.

Then we come to the sphere of education. I spent a lot of time pondering the issue in terms of section 37(1). Senator Power has given me the answer I sought. She referred to a situation where a person must respect and must not actively undermine the ethos of an institution. When I started teaching I had a friend who became a Buddhist. He taught Buddhism in the school during religion class. I am afraid he lost his job. I do not think he should have been doing that. I can see very few circumstances in which a person?s marital status or sexuality would come into play in terms of medical issues. I would not dwell too much on such issues in the case of someone operating on me. It would not affect me that much at the time.

I taught as a single person for many years and I also taught as a married person for many years. In addition, I taught as a separated person for a few years. However, I was the same teacher. It is time we moved on. I remember the chairperson of a board of management of a new school saying he had got his first five teachers and that they were all male, married and had children. He thought that was what was required for the school to protect its ethos. I do not know the reason. We must move away from such an approach. We must legislate for it. The Bill provides for religious institutions. Everyone agrees that religious institutions cannot be discriminated against because, as Karl Marx said, when the oppressed are freeing themselves, they must free the oppressor as well. The balance in the Bill that is being discussed across the floor is something that can be teased out as we move on. The main issue is that the Bill is before the House.

I hope that whatever the Attorney General needs to do with the Bill is done in a positive context to enhance the legislation. The programme for Government commits that people of non-faith or minority religious backgrounds and publicly identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people should not be deterred from training and taking up employment in the State. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, said unequivocally that he regarded it as wrong that people whose wages are paid by the taxpayer and who are employed to provide essential public services should feel intimidated or feel the need to live their lives in secret. That is a terrible situation. Senator Bacik also referred to fear. It is a word that struck home with me. I do not want anyone to live in fear, for example, that his or her sexual orientation or family status should become known locally and lead to victimisation by an employer. As a pluralist, constitutional democracy we must commit to both equality of treatment and tolerance. On a daily basis we hear of people suffering from stress, mental health illness and tragic death by suicide.

It would be naive to assume that some persons who suffer because of their religious beliefs or are identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender persons are not affected when victimised and targeted for treatment that is different from that afforded to the rest of the population. In recent years, equality on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity has become a priority for many trade unions. I am glad the unions, with others, took on this challenge. I hope it no longer amounts to a challenge and has instead become an endeavour that will reach full success. We are a young nation going through many changes and this legislation is an important instrument. However, we must also challenge our own actions and attitudes towards persons who have different beliefs or a different sexual orientation.