The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (The Commission) has today launched its new Strategy Statement 2022-2024 that identifies the five key priorities that will govern the Commission’s work for the next three years.
This is the Commission’s third Strategy Statement since being established in 2014, and has been informed by a consultation process with a range of individuals, organisations, and bodies from across the human rights and equality sector in Ireland.
It encompasses some of Ireland’s most pressing human rights and equality issues across areas such as housing, discrimination, and economic inequality.
The Strategy identifies the Commission’s five strategic priority areas:
- Economic Equality– Seeking greater economic equality in housing, employment, income and for carers.
- Justice– Defending access to justice and the rule of law in the international protection system, in the courts, and in the use of public powers, including in respect of Brexit impacts.
- Respect and Recognition– Promoting the eradication of racism, ableism, ageism, and sexism, through public understanding and State action.
- Futureproofing– Responding to crises that threaten rights and equality including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
- Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty– Encouraging, reporting on and enforcing the compliance of public bodies with their statutory duty.
The Strategy Statement comes as data from the Commission show that there is a rising emphasis by people in Ireland on issues of equality. In its annual poll of December 2021, IHREC found that 91% of people believe that everyone is entitled to equality in Irish society – an increase from 88% before the pandemic in 2018.*
Speaking at the launch, Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney stated:
“Today is a moment, where as a society we can take a different approach. We can recalibrate our values and priorities and make a conscious effort to simply care for each other more, to choose to see our commonalities more than our differences, and to join together in recognition of what we’ve learned in this pandemic – that we are stronger when we behave as a community, supporting each other and acting in solidarity.
“Before the pandemic exacerbated the situation of our healthcare, our housing, of people facing discrimination and exclusion in shops and street corners, these problems all existed here in Ireland. As we all sought safety at home, the pandemic simply shone a brighter light on the problems beyond our front door.
“Today with this Strategy Statement we, at IHREC, are calling for a rethink of Ireland’s approach to human rights and equality. To be proactive, both individually and as a society. To go out and seek the voices, views and perspectives of those who are heard least, and impacted most by decision-making. To think about the equality and dignity which we all want, and build it into how we design not only the homes of our future, but the policies, programmes and institutions of our coming generations. And crucially, not to wait for people to be wronged and to be hurt before forcing them to seek justice.”
ENDS/
For further information, please contact:
Brian Dawson, IHREC Communications Manager,
01 8589601 / (087) 0697095
Follow us on twitter @_IHREC
Editor’s Note
The full text of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Strategy Statement 2022-2024 is available here.
* Nationally representative online surveys carried out by Amárach Research on behalf of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in 2018 and 2021.
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.
