Publications

Bearing the wider issues related to the housing and homelessness crisis in mind, this policy statement focuses specifically on the State’s provision of emergency accommodation to families experiencing homelessness. This policy statement sets out the Commission’s equality and human rights concerns and suggests how these might be addressed in future law and policy development.

Annual Report 2016

The Annual Report 2016 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

The Commission welcomes the opportunity to make its second submission to the Citizens’ Assembly. In particular, the Commission is encouraged by the Assembly’s focus on the opportunities as well as the challenges presented by an ageing population. The question of an ageing population gives rise to matters of equality and human rights and, in accordance…

Culkin v Sligo County Council – March 2017

This case relates to whether it is permissible for the Plaintiff/ Appellant to pursue complaints before the Workplace Relations Commission pursuant to section 77 of the EEA to full investigation, and also be permitted to pursue a personal injuries claim, where it is alleged that both claims arise from the same set of alleged facts. At issue in this appeal is the proper interpretation of section 101 of the EEA.

In Part 1 of these observations, the Commission provides views on the specific wording in the Bill and Ireland’s obligations to transpose the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (the ‘Victims’ Directive’).

In Part 2, the Commission draws attention to a number of areas which have been identified as particularly challenging in advancing victims’ rights in Ireland.

Dualgas na hEarnála Poiblí

Leagtar amach sa bhileog eolais seo roinnt céimeanna ar féidir le comhlachtaí poiblí a ghlacadh chun cúrsaí chearta daonna agus comhionannais a chur san áireamh ina gcuid oibre.

This easy to read document was developed by Inclusion Ireland for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to explain some of the issues in the IHREC’s CEDAW report. The document was proof-read by men and women with disability.

What is life like for women in Ireland in 2016?

IHREC’s consultation on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The story of where we went, who we met and what they said.

This case and related cases raise significant human rights issues with regard to the segregation of juvenile prisoners in circumstances where each applicant claims to have been confined to their cell, without respite for a period of weeks, in conditions they allege amount to solitary confinement. These legal submissions apply to all four cases. The Commission, which has been given liberty to appear as amicus curiae in all four cases, has undertaken not to entrench on factual matters but will seek to set out the general principles applicable to the practice of solitary confinement.

The court has ordered a reporting restriction in relation to these proceedings and none of the applicants may be identified.

The Commission welcomes the publication of the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016 (the ‘Bill’) in December 2016. It notes that a significant number of additional provisions are proposed to be introduced at the Committee Stage of the parliamentary debate. Prior to the publication of the Bill, the Commission published legislative observations on the General Scheme of the Equality / Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (the ‘General Scheme of the Bill’),4 and while these legislative observations are of continued relevance, the Commission takes the opportunity to provide a brief supplementary comment following publication of the Bill.

This submission is the IHREC’s contribution to a major consultation conducted by European Commission in 2016 on the draft ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’. The Pillar of Social Rights outlines proposed non-binding EU standards in twenty social policy domains. The IHREC’s main recommendations are (a) that the European Commission ensure that each of the proposed standards undergo an equality mainstreaming evaluation; (b) that the revised draft of the European Pillar of Social Rights demonstrates how each principle reflects the requirements of European human rights law; and (c) that the Pillar of Social Rights be strengthened by setting out the steps that will be taken to reform EU law on social rights