Duty Events
Conference reports, video and presentations
IHREC and ICTU Joint Webinar
Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Equality: The Potential of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty for Trade Unions
Thursday, 22nd October 2020
The Commission joint webinar organised with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions took place on the morning of Thursday 22 October on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and Equality: The Potential of the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty for Trade Unions to engage senior Trade Union representatives in a dialogue on how the Duty can be used in practice by Trade Unions to advance human rights and equality.
The webinar was opened by Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and Kevin Callinan, Vice President and Chair of the Congress Public Services Committee. David Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON delivered the keynote address offering practical insights in to the use of the Public Sector Equality Duty by UNISON in the UK at national, regional and local level to advance better protection of workers’ rights and better quality services. Laurence Bond, IHREC Director gave a presentation on the Public Sector Duty and the event was co-chaired by Jean O’Mahony, Head of Strategic Engagement, IHREC and Patricia McKeown, Regional Secretary, UNISON NI.
IHREC Webinar for Government Departments
Government Departments’ Statements of Strategy and Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 – The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty
Thursday, 16th July 2020
The Commission hosted a webinar event for senior level officials in government departments on the statutory obligation to implement the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, and to support compliance with the Duty in the agencies under their aegis.
The webinar with government departments on the Public Sector Duty was particularly timely as departments were involved in developing their new Strategic Plans. The requirement to integrate the Duty in strategic plans and annual reports means that it is an ongoing obligation that must be monitored, reviewed, and developed in each strategic planning cycle.
The event included remarks from Dr. Frank Conaty, IHREC Acting Chief Commissioner, and presentations from Dr. Carol Baxter Assistant Secretary on learnings from the Department of Justice experience of implementing the Duty, and from Jacqueline Healy, IHREC Public Sector Duty Manager, on approaches to implement the Public Sector Duty. The event was chaired by Head of Strategic Engagement at IHREC, Jean O’Mahony.
Regulatory and Oversight Bodies
In November 2019, the Commission invited Regulatory and Oversight Bodies to attend a roundtable event to assist in understanding the statutory obligation to implement the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 and to explore ways to support implementation of the Duty through Regulatory and Oversight Processes.
Information Sessions for Public Bodies on Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty
In 2019, the Commission developed its guidance for public bodies on Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty.
The guidance provides an overview of the Duty, its context and the three steps that a public body must take to implement the Duty in line with its statutory obligation.
The Commission ran four information sessions on the new guidance to assist public bodies.
Public Sector Duty Event for Local Authorities 2018
This conference, in partnership with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), held in September 2018 provided an opportunity to showcase and disseminate the learnings of PSD pilot projects from two local authorities – Cork City Council and Monaghan County Council.
Implementing the Public Sector Duty
In November 2017, the Commission hosted information events in Dublin and Limerick to assist public bodies in understanding their statutory obligation to implement the Public Sector Human Rights and Equality Duty under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014. The events provided valuable information and guidance, including keynote presentations from international and national speakers and feature practical workshops and networking opportunities.
Conference video
Audio-version
Conference Report
To capture the information and learnings from these events, we have produced the following report. Inside we have recorded some of the insights provided by our keynote speakers and collated the ideas that were being shared at the workshops.
Download the conference report Implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty
Dublin Materials
- Event Programme – Dublin
- Implementing the Duty in the Probation Service – Una Doyle
- Implementing the Duty in Monaghan County Council – Bernie Bradley
- Implementing the Duty: An Inter-Agency Approach at Local Level – Niall Crowley and Valerie McFarlane