The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (the Duty) places an obligation on public bodies to have regard to human rights and equality considerations in the performance of their functions. The Duty is set out in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014.
The Commission has provided guidance to support public bodies to implement the Duty – Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (2nd Edition, December 2024).
Responding to a need expressed by civil society for more information on the Duty and its application in practice, the Commission developed this complementary guidance. The Civil Society Guidance shows how engagement by civil society with public bodies on their implementation of the Duty can directly inform both the way they work and how they develop and deliver policies and services so that discrimination can be eliminated, and equality and human rights are promoted and protected. A set of civil society case studies help illustrate ways civil society can advocate on and engage with public bodies on the Duty in practice.