Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if officials of his Department have identified the impact of funding cuts on the core functions of the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7737/09]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he is confident that Ireland is not in breach of the European race equality directive in view of the fact that Article 13 of that directive specifically outlines that equality authorities must be able to provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination, conduct independent surveys regarding discrimination and publish independent reports, functions which many former board members of the Equality Authority feel will not be possible in view of recent budget cuts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7734/09]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way Ireland is not in breach of the European race equality directive in view of the fact that Article 13 of that directive specifically outlines that equality authorities must be able provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination, conduct independent surveys concerning discrimination and publish independent reports, functions which former respected board members and the former chief executive officer have said are not possible because of the 43% cut in funding. [7578/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way the integration of corporate services between the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission is progressing in view of the fact that he regards it as vital to cost savings; the way he will save money by integrating the corporate services of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission if one body is to be decentralised to Roscrea, County Tipperary and the other is to remain in Dublin; and the way, using accounting projections, decentralisation of the Equality Authority to Roscrea will save money in view of the fact that many experienced staff will have to be redeployed or replaced. [7577/09]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the way he will save money by integrating the corporate services of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission if one body is to be decentralised to Roscrea, County Tipperary and the other is to remain in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7664/09]

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made to date on integrating the corporate services of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7731/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 58, 85, 86, 87 and 89 together.

Discussions are continuing in relation to the sharing of services between the two organisations. All payroll transactions are already carried out on behalf of the Equality Authority by my Department's Financial Shared Services Unit based in Killarney. My Department is currently looking to extend this service to the Irish Human Rights Commission. As a next step, the Equality Authority is now in the process of linking up with my Department's central IT operating system and this will result in substantial savings in respect of the provision of IT services in the years ahead. This system operates throughout the country, in all my Department's offices, from the central location in Dublin and will soon be functional in Roscrea as well.

In the context of the overall reduction of staff within the Authority, it will now be possible for their building in Dublin to be shared within the Justice and Equality group and accordingly, the rent payable by the Authority can now be halved. Finally, it should be noted that fifteen staff have been working in Roscrea for almost two years, they have been fully trained and are operating very effectively there. Discussions are ongoing with the agencies to identify further areas where economies of scale can be achieved such as library and information services, hosting of websites, licensing of software and shared procurement.

The Equality Authority is a designated equality body in Ireland for the promotion of equal treatment of all persons without discrimination on the grounds of gender and of racial or ethnic origin, for the purposes of the EU gender non-discrimination directives and the racial equality directive. The authority has informed me that it fully intends to carry out its core functions, including those exercised in its role as a designated equality body.