Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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269. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills on her plans to amend S37(1) of the employment equality act to prohibit discrimination against teachers on the grounds of religion. [10281/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998, as amended, aims to better protect employees against discrimination in an appropriate and balanced way, while respecting religious freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.

The amended Section 37 draws a distinction between religious institutions that are entirely privately funded and those which are funded by the taxpayer. The rationale is, in the case of the second category, that the Government has the right - and arguably a duty - to protect employees who are paid from public monies from unfair treatment or discrimination in their work place.

Section 37 as amended now obliges relevant employers in religious-run schools and hospitals to show that any favourable treatment of an employee or prospective employee is limited to the religion ground and that any action taken against a person is objectively justified by reference to that institution's aim of protecting its religious ethos and that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.

The amended provision raises the threshold so that religious run schools and hospitals must show real damage to their ethos, are precluded from discrimination on any of the other equality grounds and that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate.