Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1148. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 190 of 20 May 2025, wherein the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade gave the foreign affairs perspective, and in light of the examples provided in the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by the government, if she could outline her views from an equality perspective how she will ensure that training or education courses procured by her Department will not give the impression that legitimate political views should be considered antisemitic, wherein taking a particular interest in human rights in Palestine may be read as applying a double standard against Israel, under the IHRA definition, and where individuals disagree with the description given in the definition that Israel is a democratic nation, owing to its disenfranchisement of the native Palestinian population across the region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29001/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1149. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 671 of 20 May 2025, and the clarification therein from the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration that matters relating to equality policy fall under the remit of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality; the details of engagements between her Department and civil liberties groups (details supplied) ahead of the Government's adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and since the adoption of the definition.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29002/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1150. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 710 of 20 May 2025, and the clarification therein from the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration that matters relating to equality policy fall under the remit of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, the reason there was no public consultation ahead of the Government's adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism as there was ahead of the adoption of the National Action Plan Against Racism. [29003/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1245. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to correspondences with the Minister for Justice (details supplied), to clarify exactly the scope of her Department’s remit with respect to equality policy. [30448/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1148, 1149, 1150 and 1245 together.

Responsibility for anti-racism and anti-semitism policy has transferred to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

The Department of Foreign Affairs heads Ireland’s delegation to the IHRA. My Department has not had any role in the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism.

My Department is responsible for the promotion of equality measures, including coordination of a range of cross-Government Equality Strategies, covering gender equality, Traveller and Roma inclusion, and LGBTI+ equality. My Department also develops policy and legislation to address specific areas of equality, including oversight of the Equality Acts; the provision of family leaves; the introduction of gender pay gap reporting; and work to develop a National Equality Data Strategy.

The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 and the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 (the Equality Acts) prohibit discrimination, across nine protected grounds, in employment and in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education. The Equality Acts ensure that individuals are protected from discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of protected characteristics, including race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, family status, gender, civil state and membership of the Traveller community.

Under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights duty, as set out in section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, all public bodies in Ireland have responsibility to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. Individual Departments are responsible, therefore, for measuring and addressing the equality implications of initiatives and policies under their remit.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is Ireland’s national human rights and equality institution. IHREC has legal powers to monitor and provide information, guidance and education to public bodies to understand and meet their statutory obligations under section 42. It also provides an information service to the public about their rights under equality and human rights law in Ireland.