Schools and hospitals to lose right to sack gay staff

Religious-run schools and hospitals will be stripped of the ability to sack staff for being gay, divorced, or unmarried parents by Easter, Equality Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin says.

The move will see Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act changed, as the minister says it puts a “chill” into workers who fear being fired for private lives that go against the ethos of church-run institutions.

“They can be sacked, technically, if a board manager felt that someone was actively undermining the ethos of their school by their private life,” Mr Ó Ríordáin told the Irish Examiner.