Written answers
Tuesday, 29 June 2021
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
Departmental Policies
Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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169. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way his Department and public bodies and agencies under his remit fulfil their obligations under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34859/21]
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below.
| Name of Body | Position in relation to the implementation of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 |
|---|---|
| Department of Public Expenditure and Reform | Details of the implementation of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty by the Department are set out on the gov.ie website at this link: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/5df24-public-sector-equality-and-human-rights-duty/ |
| National Shared Services Office (NSSO) | The NSSO has had initial discussions with the IHREC in relation to its obligations under the 2014 Act and how to develop an implementation plan. |
| Public Appointments Service (PAS) | The issues that require to be addressed under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 are covered in the PAS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. |
| Office of Public Works (OPW) | Having regard to its functions and purpose, the Office of Public Works does not believe it has any issues in relation to human rights and equality that need assessment, implementation or reporting. |
| Office of the Ombudsman | The Office of the Ombudsman is committed to providing a service to all clients that respects human rights and the right to equal treatment and has adopted a proactive approach to implementing this duty. The Office’s approach is underlined by its core organisational values of independence, customer focus and fairness, which are evident in both the culture of the Office and our internal policies and procedures. In 2018, the Office established a working group on its public sector duty. The group considered the human rights and equality issues relevant to the Office’s functions and identified the policies, plans and actions needed to address these. On foot of this, a Public Sector Duty Committee was established and an Equality Officer appointed. The Committee has made a considerable amount of progress since 2018. It oversaw the introduction of an e-learning module on human rights and equality for new staff members, carried out a review of all communications in the Office, introduced a revised internal communications strategy focusing on the availability of needs assessments and assistive technologies and enhanced the accessibility of the Office for staff and visitors |
| State Laboratory | The State Laboratory does not deal with the public. The majority of its staff are recruited through the Public Appointments Service who have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Strategy which recognises their statutory obligation to implement the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty set out under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. A small number of staff are recruited using a listed recruitment agency under license from the Commission for Public Service Appointments. |
| Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery (ORNL) | The ORNL has assessed the human rights and equality issues it believes to be relevant to the functions and purpose of the body and identified the policies, plans and actions in place or proposed to be put in place. The Office has already begun to implement these and will be incorporating them in the next Strategic Plan (2022-2024) |
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