Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 710: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the work to date of the working group on equality proofing established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness; and the group's plan of work to the end of 2006. [1017/05]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 767: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the work to date of the working group on equality proofing established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness; and the group's plan of work to the end of 2006. [1657/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 710 and 767 together.

The working group on equality proofing was established under the social partnership agreement, Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, PPF. It continues its work in the context of the successor agreement, Sustaining Progress. Paragraph 5.5.2 of Sustaining Progress provides for the proofing of policies and services in the public sector to avoid unanticipated negative impact on any of the groups protected under the equality legislation, to ensure policy coherence and best use of resources. The primary task of the working group is to develop tools so that an efficient and effective proofing process can be applied. The working group is building on the experience of gender-proofing under the national development plan, NDP, poverty-proofing and the experience of the Northern Ireland authorities of their analogous processes.

The working group in the period up to end 2002 commenced a number of pilot initiatives, including, first, a joint research project by the Equality Authority and the Combat Poverty Agency to support the focus on inequalities leading to poverty within the poverty-proofing guidelines. Second, the city and county development boards, CDBs, applied a template to enable them to equality-proof their strategy plans. The Equality Authority published a review of the outcomes of this process entitled "Equality Commitments in City/County Development Board Strategy Plans". Third, quality customer service under the strategic management Initiative, SMI, includes an emphasis on equality and diversity. A support pack was developed and circulated to all Departments. The pack focuses on practical approaches to accommodating diversity, to securing accessibility and to putting in place equal status policies. Fourth, the Equality Authority developed a voluntary scheme to conduct equality reviews and action plans in workplaces. Funding was provided by my Department to contribute towards the cost of consultants. Fifth, FÁS commenced piloting an equality proofing exercise focusing on employment services. Sixth, the Community Workers Co-operative was resourced to develop a manual on equality proofing for community and voluntary groups to assist them in engaging in this process.

In the period since 2002, work on these initiatives continued and a further set of activities was commenced. This included piloting an integrated approach to proofing, involving simultaneously poverty, gender and equality proofing. The Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Equality Authority completed an integrated proofing template. Two policies, the national action plan against racism and the back to education allowance expenditure review were used to pilot the template and a report, Integrated Proofing: Learning from Pilots, was presented to the working group on equality proofing at the end of 2004.

An equal status review in the North Western Health Board has taken place and the report of the process, including an equal status review template, is expected to become available around mid-2005. Follow-up to the pilot projects on equality proofing in FÁS is ongoing with additional areas now being targeted for equality proofing during 2005. A detailed report on the activities of the working group on equality proofing covering the period 2002 to 2004 is currently being prepared and will be submitted to the steering group on Sustaining Progress shortly.

The 2005 work plan for the working group on equality proofing identified a number of main areas. It recognised that work on equality proofing should now focus on rolling out in the public service the learning process from the equality-integrated proofing exercises already carried out.

During 2005 the working group intends to have carried out a further three to four equality proofing exercises on key policy initiatives. Also the working group is to further test the integrated proofing template. The particular initiatives and policies to be proofed have yet to be identified by the working group.

The working group will continue to monitor research on statute-based proofing systems and is currently examining recent reports on section 75 in Northern Ireland — the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland's report on the implementation of the section 75 statutory duties and an independent report entitled, The Section 75 Equality Duty — An Operational Review.