Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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52. To ask the Taoiseach 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. [34861/21]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 places a statutory obligation on public bodies to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect the human rights of those to whom they provide services and staff when carrying out their daily work. The Act requires public bodies to carry out an assessment which looks at the human rights and equality issues of relevance to the functions and policies of their Department, to identify any gaps and appropriate actions to address these.

My Department's Public Sector Duty Assessment is available to view on gov.ie at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/0f55fb-work-of-the-department-of-the-taoiseach/

The Assessment focuses on how the Duty impacts on three main areas of activity: services provided to the public, my Department's role in policy development and how my Department treats its own staff. The document also contains a summary of potential gaps identified and the appropriate actions to be taken to address these.

Monitoring of progress and continued compliance will be included in my Department’s Corporate Governance Framework and Annual Reporting process.

The National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) - the only body under my Department's aegis – is currently reviewing its Policy and Procedures document which will make reference to its obligations under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014.