The Irish Government have launched a consultation period, seeking the public’s views on a review of the Equality Acts which outlaw discrimination in a wide range of employment and employment-related areas. These include recruitment and promotion; equal pay; working conditions; training or experience; dismissal and harassment including sexual harassment.
The legislation defines discrimination as treating one person in a less favourable way than another person. There are 9 grounds for discrimination, including:
Gender, Civil status, Family status, Sexual orientation, Religion, Age, Disability, Race or Membership of the Traveller community.
The Government wish to explore the possibility of adding new protected grounds to the Equality Acts, such as a socio-economic ground and gender identity.
According to the Irish Council for Human Rights (ICHR) website, “the ICHR are aware that a great many of the public have suffered discrimination both in the employment context and also in accessing goods and services (entering shops, restaurants, cafes, concerts, schooling events etc.) arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in relation to the refusal by shops etc. to respect face covering exemptions and also due to their health / immunization status.”
“It appears to the ICHR that although this consultation is intended, in particular, to introduce a new protected ground of gender identity, it would be more applicable for Government to concentrate on combatting the widespread discrimination being suffered by hundreds of thousands of people in this country, as a direct result of their policy prescriptions”.
The ICHR are asking that members of the public complete their questionnaire which can be accessed here.
The ICHR can then make a submission to the Government before the deadline of 29 November 2021 to press upon the Government to introduce a new protected ground of health / immunization status into the Equality Acts.
The findings from this campaign will also be used in subsequent lobby campaigns concerning any further extension of the Vaccine Passport laws in Ireland.
The ICHR ask the Public to complete the survey and share the survey with their contacts.
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