Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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267. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is satisfied with the manner in which the Equality Tribunal conducts itself and deals with cases that are brought to its attention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7680/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Equality Tribunal is a quasi- judicial and independent statutory body set up under the Employment Equality Act 1998 to investigate and decide on complaints of discrimination. The Equality Tribunal as one of the quasi-judicial bodies of this Department and is operated independently of the Minister and as such the Minister does not interfere in the exercise by that body of its quasi-judicial functions including how it deals with cases. All decisions of the Equality Tribunal may be appealed to the Labour Court or the Circuit Court depending on the legislation. As with all quasi-judicial bodies it is subject to the oversight of the High Court through the system of Judicial Review. Such review is the appropriate channel to seek a remedy for any dissatisfaction a party to a complaint may have with either a decision issued or the processes involved. The Workplace Relations Bill currently before the Oireachtas is expected to be enacted early this year. On commencement, the Equality Tribunal will cease to exist and all cases on hands and all new cases will be a matter for the Workplace Relations Commission.

The establishment of the Workplace Relations Commission, replacing the Equality Tribunal as well as the Labour Relations Commission, the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the National Employment Rights Authority will allow greater resources to be applied to processing complaints of discrimination and a quicker and more efficient service is expected.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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268. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the annual budget of the Equality Tribunal; the number of staff employed; and the number of cases dealt with in 2014. [7731/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The 2014 budget allocation for the Equality Tribunal was €1.955 million. The number of staff employed in the Tribunal at the end of 2014 was 21.6 full time equivalents (FTEs), a number of which are assisting with Workplace Relations Reform projects. The Tribunal had 730 new cases referred to it in 2014 and closed 506 cases.