Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister's reply. In our reading, though, the IHRC does not have the full range of powers available to the commission in the North. Therefore, the equivalence obligation under the Good Friday Agreement appears to have been ignored. That the Government is proposing to amalgamate the IHRC and Equality Authority will result in a mismatch of powers and obligations and the equivalence obligation will again be ignored. We call on the Minister to maintain the IHRC as a sole body and to invest in it the broad range of powers available to the commission in the North. The Bill is unpicking parts of an agreement to which both Governments are equal co-guarantors and that was supported by the vast majority of the people of Ireland. This sends the wrong message to parties that may want to diminish powers granted under the Good Friday Agreement and unpick other elements of it. We struggled and fought for the Agreement. Therefore, will the Minister reconsider our points?