The European Committee of Social Rights raises ongoing concern with the State on Traveller accommodation, social housing, and collective bargaining rights
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (“the Commission”) today welcomed the publication of the European Committee of Social Rights’ (“the ECSR”) ‘Findings of 2023’.
The report assessed Ireland’s follow-up actions in response to the ECSR’s decisions on five collective complaints made against the State under the Revised European Social Charter, a binding human rights treaty that Ireland ratified in 2000.
The five collective complaints relate to;
- The provision of Traveller accommodation by the State;
- Current arrangements for industrial relations within An Garda Síochána;
- The compliance of Irish law, policy and practices on social housing with European standards;
- Trade union rights of defence force representative associations; and
- The gender pay gap and representation of women on corporate boards.
In response to the State’s report submitted to the ECSR in December 2022, the Commission submitted an independent assessment of the lack of progress across the five collective complaints. In our report, we detailed several areas where the national legislative framework is still not in conformity with articles of the Charter, resulting in ongoing rights violations and accountability failures.
One such concern raised was on the continuing violation of Article 16 due to State practices relating to the eviction of Travellers and the State’s limited progress in addressing this. This is made more notable given the amount of time that has passed since these issues were first raised with the ECSR.
We also expressed our concern on the planning and provision of Traveller accommodation, which remains incoherent and inadequate, exacerbated by the absence of an independent authority responsible for oversight and delivery. Meanwhile, Travellers continue to experience serious violations of their right to adequate and culturally appropriate housing.
In its conclusions published today, the ECSR noted that while some positive measures have been taken by the State, there is no documented evidence of “tangible and meaningful improvements as regards the provision of accommodation for Travellers or living conditions on halting sites.”
The Committee also noted that the “crucial Traveller Accommodation Expert Review recommendations, including those on national oversight, data collection and governance, have yet to be implemented, and work on the new strategy on Roma and Traveller issues, which has previously served as an important vehicle for coordinating policy in area of Traveller accommodation, appears to have stalled.”
The Committee concluded that the State failed to adequately respond to the Commission’s concerns, and Ireland continues to be in violation of Article 16 of the Charter.
On the other collective complaints, the Committee noted that:
- European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) v. Ireland: The situation has not been brought into conformity with Article 6§4 of the Charter as domestic legislation still provides for a complete prohibition of the right to strike for the police;
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) v. Ireland: The situation has not been brought into conformity with Article 16 of the Charter, including as progress has stalled and a significant number of local authority tenants continue to live in inadequate housing conditions;
- European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) v. Ireland: The situation has not been brought into conformity with Article 5 of the Charter as Ireland has yet to remove the complete probation against military representative associations joining national workers’ organisations;
- University Women of Europe (UWE) v. Ireland: The situation has been brought into conformity with Articles 4§3 and 20.c and Article 20.d of the Charter, including due to the introduction of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 and measures to collect reliable and standardised data.
Deirdre Malone, Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission stated:
“The ECSR has once again found that Travellers in Ireland continue to experience violations of their rights to social, legal and economic protection, due to the State’s failure to provide sufficient accommodation for Travellers, the inadequate conditions of existing Traveller sites, and due to State practices relating to the eviction of Travellers.
Attempts to improve the provision of Traveller accommodation remain incoherent and inadequate, while commitments to establish an independent authority remain outstanding.
The failure to develop and implement clear, cohesive data-informed policy commitments and targets, demonstrated not least by the ongoing absence of a current National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, remains a significant concern for the Commission”
ENDS/
This Press Release was amended at 10am on 21 March 2024
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Notes to editor:
To read the ECSR Follow-up to Decisions on the Merits of Collective Complaint ‘Findings of 2023’, at this link:
https://rm.coe.int/findings-2023-en/1680aef57f
The full submission to the European Committee of Social Rights is available at the following link:
The Government of Ireland submitted its 20th National Report to the European Committee of Social Rights on the implementation of the European Social Charter in December 2022.
This Commission report responds to that State report and its specific update on its response to five collective complaints:
Collective Complaint 83/2012: European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) v. Ireland
The complaint calls on the State to remove the complete abolition of members of An Garda Síochána’s right to strike in order to bring the current legislative framework into conformity with the right to bargain collectively under the Charter.
We noted in our submission that the complete prohibition of An Garda Síochána members’ right to strike remains in place and expressed our view that the legislative framework has yet to be brought into conformity with Article 6.4 of the Charter.
Collective Complaint 100/2013: European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Ireland
In this complaint, the Committee found the State in violation of the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection, due to the failure to provide sufficient accommodation for Travellers, the inadequate conditions of existing Traveller sites, and the inadequate safeguards governing Traveller evictions.
The effect of these inadequate conditions on the health of Travellers became more pronounced recently due to the threat of Covid-19.
In our submission, we noted our view that Article 16 of the Charter continues to be violated with respect to Traveller rights in the State.
Collective Complaint 110/2014: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) v. Ireland
In this complaint, the Committee found that the State violated Article 16 of the Charter due to its failure to take sufficient and timely measures to ensure the right to housing of an adequate standard, with regard to habitability and access to essential services, for a significant number of families living in local authority housing.
In our submission, we expressed our view, based on the State’s report to the Committee, that progress in responding to this complaint continues to be slow, including with regard to national statistics, housing conditions, preventative maintenance and repairs, and regeneration projects. Given that the designation of a regeneration project involves recognition that social housing tenants are living in inadequate conditions, further delays perpetuate and exacerbate the existing rights violations. The situation has not been brought into conformity with Article 16.
Collective Complaint 112/2014: European Organisation of Military Associations (EUROMIL) v. Ireland
The complaint, on the trade union rights of defence force representative associations, calls on the State to remove the complete prohibition against military representative associations from joining national employees’ organisations in order to bring the current law into conformity with the right to organise provisions of the Charter.
We noted our position in our submission, that as the prohibition against military representative bodies from joining national employees’ organisations has yet to be removed, the current legislative framework continues to be in non-conformity with Article 5 of the Charter.
Complaint No. 132/2016, University Women of Europe (UWE) v Ireland
The complaint, on the gender pay gap and representation of women in decision-making positions within private companies, sets out that Ireland fails to observe the principle of equal pay for women and men for equal, similar or comparable work.
Despite recent legislative measures, there remains a persistent gender pay gap in Ireland and obstacles for victims seeking to enforce their rights. We note in particular the limited scope of companies covered by the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 and the lack of progress in introducing an online reporting system.
In our submission to the Committee, we shared our view that in light of these ongoing inadequacies, Ireland is in breach of its positive obligation to ensure pay comparison and pay transparency in practice, and continues to be in non-conformity with Articles 4.3, 20.c and 20.d of the Charter.
The European Social Charter
The Revised European Social Charter is a binding human rights treaty that Ireland ratified in 2000 (replacing the State’s accession to an earlier European Social Charter that had been ratified in 1964).
The Charter sets out legal standards in economic, social and cultural human rights, in areas such as housing and accommodation, education, social welfare and protection, and in employment. It also protects structurally vulnerable groups such as children, people with disabilities and older people. It is the Council of Europe’s counterpart for economic, social and cultural rights to the European Convention on Human Rights.
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.