IHREC wants equality law to cover new grounds
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has called for a change in equality legislation to include discrimination on new grounds of socio-economic status and criminal conviction.
The call came in the body鈥檚 second set of recommendations to Government as part of a process of review of the equality acts that includes the and the .
that the introduction of a ground of socio-economic status is 鈥渁 matter of justice鈥 that would constitute 鈥渁 crucial shift in the equality landscape in Ireland鈥.
Exemptions
The human-rights body also calls for a broad prohibition on discrimination on the ground of criminal conviction that is not limited to spent convictions.
It adds, however, that further research should be carried out to determine the appropriate exemptions that would be needed to safeguard the rights of victims of crime.
IHREC鈥檚 submission has also recommended changes to the existing gender and family-status grounds.
It wants the gender ground in the equality acts to be amended to include explicit reference to, and define, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics.
IHREC also says that the 鈥榝amily status鈥 ground should be renamed the 鈥榗arer status' ground, and be defined to ensure that a broader range of parents and persons who provide care to adults are protected.
Call to rename WRC
Its submission also includes recommendations on access to justice and legal aid, and on exemptions under equality legislation.
Its recommendations on access to justice include:
- The State should return complaints of discrimination in licensed premises to the purview of the Equal Status Acts and the jurisdiction of the Workplace Relations Commission by repealing section 19 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003,
- The renaming of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to reflects the full extent of its remit,
- A tailored approach to the provision of legal aid for minority and structurally vulnerable groups to redress 鈥渁 systemic imbalance and a culture of discrimination鈥, and
- Expansion of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme to include a wider range of areas, such as employment and equality cases before the WRC.
Chief Commissioner Sin茅ad Gibney described the Government鈥檚 review of equality law as 鈥渁 milestone opportunity for change鈥.
鈥淭he law must adapt to provide effective prevention of, and protection against, discrimination, now and into the future,鈥 she added.