Commission may probe legality of Equality Authority cuts

MANY of the victims of Government cutbacks have made their voices heard over the past few months and had their grievances taken on board.

There was one group, however, that appeared to be both invisible and voiceless — those who suffer discrimination.

They were an easy target for the authors of the budget cuts who so far appear to have succeeded in devastating services designed to prevent and right discrimination.

Among those are the Equality Authority, the Human Rights Commission and the National Consultative Commission on Racism and Interculturalism, the NCCRI.

The only glimmer of hope that some of this might be reversed now lies with the European Commission, which has been asked to investigate whether the 43% cut in funding to the Equality Authority breaches the Race Equality Directive.

The Equality Authority is a designated body under the European Race Equality Directive that the Government helped draw up and signed up to, incorporating into national law in 2003.

The board’s chief executive, Niall Crowley, resigned in protest saying the cuts had fatally compromised the ability of the board to function.

The matter was raised by Dublin MEP Proinsias De Rossa with the European Commission, which has the job of ensuring the legislation is adhered to.

He asked the commission whether the cuts threatened the body’s ability to carry out its designated functions under the directive, and was told that a budget cut in itself does not constitute a breach of the Directive ”unless it is so significant as to make it impossible for the equality body to function”.

The commission’s reply added that bodies like the Equality Authority “should in general have sufficient resources to perform all their tasks”. The commission also said the authority is recognised as a model of good practice for the rest of Europe.

Before the funding cuts the authority was already worried about the Government’s decision to decentralise them to Roscrea. It made little sense given that the majority of their clients are in Dublin and would find it difficult to make their way to Roscrea and back in one day. Mr De Rossa has asked the commission to assess the current situation taking into account the cuts, the forced move and the high-profile resignations.

Some of the other Government cuts in this area are leading people to ask about the extent of its commitment to equality. Some decisions appear vindictive.

Take the situation of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism that deals with issues before they become major problems. They built up a massive amount of expertise among their dozen staff over the past decade. Their core funding of €500,000 came from the state, and they raised a minimum 50% more from other sources, mainly EU, which dries up with the withdrawal of the state money.

But what is even more inexplicable is that this body was about to get €4 million from the EU for a special cross-border project under the peace programme to help the longer term integration of migrants both sides of the border. This money will not be available now for this project.

Add this to suggestions to them that they, in Dublin, share their administration with the Equality Authority, being moved to Roscrea and questions about the real agenda must be raised. Little wonder some in the organisation believes it’s all about “silencing voices”.

With these voices silenced perhaps the only chance of finding out what is behind some of these cuts will be if the commission takes the Government to court over its failure to live up to the directive.

By that time, however, the bodies and the expertise will be long gone, and people will be suffering as a result of the already escalating incidents of racism and discrimination.