I apologise for leaving earlier. There were several votes in the Seanad and I was unable to be present. However, I read the delegation’s document and, as the delegation is aware, the Green Party has been very concerned about the cutbacks in the past year to the budgets of the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission. The delegation referred to a 43% cut in the budget of the Equality Authority, almost half of its budget. The budget of the Irish Human Rights Commission was cut by almost one quarter. Obviously, these organisations or bodies will be merged but the idea that there would be any further cuts must be considered very carefully because it would be extremely difficult for any organisation to continue to carry out the work it is prescribed to do based on half its previous budget.

I appreciate the Commission is considering the complaint at the moment. While the Commission is not prescriptive in terms of how organisations operate or the budget or resources that should be allocated, it is very clear about the functions a body such as the Equality Authority should be able to carry out and the competences it should have. If there is any further cut in the budget of the Equality Authority it could not possibly continue to function, unless we are suggesting it was over-funded in the first place. However, I do not believe anyone would suggest that. It appears to be a model of good practice and it has been recognised as such by the European Commission. It participates in EQUINET, the European Network of Equality Bodies, and it reflects very well on Ireland that we have a very proactive equality authority which is seen as a model of best practice and which operates and networks very effectively at a European Level. As far as my party is concerned, we would be loth to see any further cutbacks in the budget.

Filed under:
European Affairs, Joint Committee on European Affairs by Deirdre