‘Grim time’ for equality bodies as independence breached

IT is a “grim time” for equality and human rights in Ireland as the independence of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) have been severely breached, it has been claimed.

A new report claims the behind-closed-doors system of selection and appointment and accountability to Government ministers and departments rather than parliament means the hampering of independence and freedom of expression.

Commissioned by Equality & Rights Alliance (ERA), a coalition of over 130 organisations and activists, the report is to be used to bolster evidence for a legal complaint to the European Commission that Ireland is in breach of EU equality law.

Carried out by independent researchers, it found that Ireland does not meet the standards of the UN Paris Principles, the recommendations of the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and the EU’s Race Directive.

It also finds that Ireland spends much less on equality and rights bodies than similar countries.

The review recommended that equality and rights bodies be answerable to the Oireachtas as the Office of the Ombudsman is, and NAMA will be.

According to ERA chairwoman Joanna McMinn, the research documents the diminished capacity of both the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission – a chipping away that took place both prior to and after the disproportionate cuts to their funding.

“Given the scale of the cuts made, it is now widely acknowledged that motives really lie in political choices to reconfigure institutions of the state to reduce the values of equality, rights and solidarity rather than solely economic imperatives and ‘value for money’,” she said.

“It shows that budget cuts imposed on the bodies in 2008 have had a significant impact on the work of the IHRC and an unquantifiable impact on the work of the Equality Authority.”

The report’s authors say that while the IHRC co-operated fully with researchers, the Equality Authority did not, despite initial assurances that it would. The study questions the ability of the Equality Authority to carry out its work.

A critical issue is the degree to which casework has been affected. In 2008, 234 files were opened with 268 closed. Preliminary figures for 2009 indicate 143 files opened to the end of August, but 342 files closed, a much higher rate of closure – attributed by chairwoman Angela Kerins to a tidying-up of old cases. Calls to the Public Information Centre (PIC) in 2008 totalled 10,443, or 870 per month. From January to August 2009 calls totalled 4,778 or 597 monthly, down 32%.

A spokesperson for the IHRC last night acknowledged that it had been hit hard by a funding cutback of 32%.