FLAC briefs European Human Rights Monitoring Body on Equality and Access to Justice Issues in Ireland

FLAC, INAR, ICCL and the ECRI Delegation

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres), along with representatives of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), met a delegation from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on 4 November 2024. ECRI is an independent human rights and equality monitoring body which is undertaking a periodic review of Ireland.

FLAC highlighted the fact that Ireland’s equality and anti-discrimination legislation is increasingly out of date and ineffective, and the urgent need for the Review of the Equality Acts to be completed and implemented. A new equality framework should be concerned with full equality in practice across all grounds. State Bodies such as An Garda Síochana and the functions of public bodies in areas like immigration should be brought within the scope of the equality legislation and its prohibition of discrimination.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 has now been in place for ten years. The time is now right to review the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights duty and the powers and functions of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (both of which are provided for in the 2014 Act). FLAC has previously made a number of recommendations for clarifying and strengthening the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty including by:

• amending it to allow for the introduction of ‘specific duties’ on State Bodies and Government Departments,

• granting IHREC stronger enforcement powers,

• ensuring that failures to comply with the duty may, of themselves, give rise to a cause of action (i.e. a legal complaint or case), and

• putting in place a centralised database of the initiatives undertaken by public bodies to comply with the duty.

FLAC emphasised the need to achieve a culture of proactive compliance with the equality legislation i.e. a culture where employers and service providers do not discriminate because they are aware of the likelihood that a case may be taken against them in the event that they did. To achieve this a sufficient number of cases needs to be taken under each ground so the legislation has a deterrent effect. The complexity of the equality legislation means that claimants may need legal assistance to take a case. Groups working with minority groups should be able to refer cases to and receive support and advice from IHREC, Ireland’s national equality body. Properly funded targeted legal services for Travellers, Roma & Minority Ethnic and Migrant Communities are also needed.

FLAC also raised a number of issues which emerge from our own experience of providing a Traveller Legal Service and Roma Legal Clinic and our related policy and law reform recommendations:

• The ‘habitual residence condition’ still creates a barrier to Roma accessing basic social welfare payments. That condition should not apply to claims for Supplementary Welfare Allowance which is supposed to act as a social safety net.

• Recent proposals to introduce a ‘habitual residence condition’ for access to emergency accommodation and social housing supports should be shelved. A full review of housing and homelessness legislation should be undertaken with a view to creating a rights-based housing system underpinned by enforceable minimum standards.

• We also highlighted the State’s failure to repeal eviction laws which disproportionality impact Travellers and which are contrary to the Revised European Social Charter. The law reform recommendations of the Traveller Accommodation Expert Group should be implemented urgently.

FLAC will provide a further update on the outcome of ECRI’s periodic review of Ireland.

Read more about FLAC’s vision for the equality legislation in our comprehensive submission to the Review of the Equality Acts.