Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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410. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of the meetings that have taken place between his Department and the Department of Justice and Equality since 2011 to discuss the inter-relationship between the Workplace Relations Commission and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the safeguards, checks and balances that have been put in place to ensure equality rights eroded as a result of the subsuming of the Equality Tribunal into the WRC. [34406/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the existing workplace relations structures the Equality Tribunal has jurisdiction to investigate and decide upon complaints of discrimination under equality legislation (i.e. the Employment Equality Acts, the Equal Status Acts and the Pensions Acts). The Equality Tribunal is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial function and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations.

While responsibility for the Equality Tribunal was transferred from the Minister for Justice and Equality to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with effect from 1 January, 2013 as part of the ongoing reform of the State's employment rights and industrial relations structures, the Minister for Justice and Equality retains responsibility for equality policy. The responsibility for policy and administrative matters concerning the establishment of the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is also a matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality.

My Department has engaged extensively with the Department of Justice and Equality since 2011 to ensure that the transition of the Equality Tribunal into the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Employment (and the new Workplace Relations Commission upon its establishment) has taken place in an effective and smooth manner without any diminution in service or rights to stakeholders.

The Workplace Relations Bill provides a statutory basis for a new structure which will see the existing five workplace relations bodies replaced by two. The Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Equality Tribunal, the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the first instance functions of the Labour Court will be replaced by the new Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), and the appellate functions of the EAT will be transferred to a new expanded Labour Court.

Under the new structures all complaints under equality legislation will be adjudicated upon at first instance by the WRC Adjudication Service with the right of appeal to the Labour Court (except in the case of the Equal Status Act where appeals will continue to be dealt with by the Circuit Court). There will not be any diminution of rights under equality legislation upon establishment of the WRC and complaints under that legislation will have equal priority with all other employment related matters in the new system.