Equality Authority: Big budget cut has badly weakened us

THE Equality Authority has revealed the budget took away 43% of its funding, leaving it powerless to carry out a number of key functions.

It said Budget 2009 had reduced its total funding from €5,897,000 to €3,333,000.

“This is disproportionate to the cutbacks imposed on other bodies in the justice, equality and law reform sector,” it said.

“The Equality Authority has been accorded functions to promote equality and to combat discrimination under equality legislation.

“It has carried out this statutory mandate diligently and to good effect.

“It is recognised that the current economic downturn creates a context of reduced finances available to the public sector.

“However, it must also be recognised that these functions, to promote equality and to combat discrimination, become particularly important at a time of economic downturn for people experiencing inequality, as it is these groups who are most vulnerable in such a period.”

The authority said it would be seeking an urgent meeting with Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to seek his intervention to save its funding.

Public service union IMPACT said the cuts in the authority’s funding would have a severe impact on the authority’s ability to enforce people’s legal right to equality in the workplace and society, while failing to deliver significant savings.

The union, which represents specialist staff in the authority, said it was hard to avoid the conclusion that the organisation is being singled out because it has been an irritant to Government departments and other public service bodies.

It pointed out that around half the cases bought under the Equal Status Act have concerned state bodies in recent years.

IMPACT national secretary Paddy Keating said: “The Governmentis effectively issuing irresponsible or careless employers and service providers with a licence to discriminate.”

He said the authority employs just 53 people so the savings were marginal in the context of the €460 million Department of Justice budget.

“But the implications for those who rely on its services are huge,” he said.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions assistant general secretary Sally Anne Kinahan said the cuts would do serious damage to the country’s emerging equality and human rights infrastructure, both for human rights and the state’s capacity to ensure equality standards are upheld.