Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, and note its capacity and responsibilities are growing, but I strongly recommend that its resources and funding grow commensurate with that. Its brief is very wide now and it has an extraordinary level of responsibility, including in terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and so many other elements of equality legislation which it is effectively implementing.

The nature of the work of IHREC is such that it not going to be able to take every case to the Circuit or High Court. In that context, I was endeavouring not to require the Minister to do so but to give him or her the power to do so. Such powers as the Minister has in regulation need to be given to him or her through primary legislation. I was seeking to ensure we gave the Minister those powers, if required, in respect of financial penalties if we saw, for example, a pattern of non-compliance emerging across a sector. A very high-profile company might be brought to court but we should not, as legislators, rely too heavily on the reputational piece. We need to look to compliance and measures in a circuit where we dis-imagine, so to speak, the consumers. We should not cede our power as representatives of citizens over to consumer embarrassment or consumer pressure, for example. We need to ensure citizens are represented.

It is true that for some companies the reputational piece will be important but for all companies, even those who do not have a reputational concern, there still needs to be transparency. I get the sense the Minister is keen not to accept amendments so that the Bill does not have to go back to the Dáil. I am not saying that in a bad way because I know he accepted amendments in the Dáil, but I would ask him to consider, between Committee and Report Stages, whether the Bill as it stands gives him the scope in respect of either financial or other penalties within the regulations or whether it is going to be solely the Circuit or High Court route, which will be a very important and strong route. I have absolute confidence in the IHREC using that route judiciously and effectively and it may not be advisable for the Minister to have such additional powers as I seek to grant in these amendments.