Equality chief quits over cuts

THE chief executive of the Equality Authority has resigned in protest at recent cuts in its budget.

Niall Crowley wrote to the authority’s chairwoman, Angela Kerins, and Justice Minister Dermot Ahern yesterday to inform them of his decision.

It came after a meeting between the two bodies on Wednesday held to discuss the effects of the budget.

Last night Ms Kerins said Mr Crowley’s resignation had come as a surprise and she was sorry to have to accept.

“I would like to pay tribute to the work of Niall both here and in the European Union,” she said.

Ms Kerins said that after Wednesday’s meeting she recognised the authority would have to cope with reduced resources.

“While accepting the reduction will have an impact on our work, I believe the authority will continue in a more focused, more limited but more prioritised way.”

Last month the authority warned it may not be able to continue after it suffered a 43% cut in its budget to €3.3 million.

However, these cuts will remain, but Ms Kerins accepted Mr Ahern needed to focus on policing and the authority would continue its work because in a time of recession those already discriminated against were particularly vulnerable.

A spokesman for the minister last night said given the current economic problems the authority was among a range of services which would have to be scaled back.

“The minister is concentrating funding on frontline policing and tackling crime,” he said.

Mr Crowley could not be contacted for comment last night.