Publications

Middlekamp and Minister for Justice

The legal submission made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to the Supreme Court in its amicus curiae role is available below.  

The Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide its submission on the General Scheme of a Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill. The Commission recognises the diversity of women and children affected by their experiences within Mother and Baby Homes and related institutions including married women, unmarried women, Traveller women and children, disabled women and…

The Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide the Minister for Health with its submission on the General Scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022. The Commission acknowledges the complexity of the sensitive issues being considered by the Minister in respect of this legislation. In particular the Commission acknowledges that…

Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Ireland’s combined fifth and sixth periodic reports from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission – August 2022    

In February 2022, the Government of Ireland submitted its 19th National Report to the European Committee of Social Rights (‘the Committee’) on the implementation of the Revised European Social Charter (‘the Charter’).9 This National Report is focused on the accepted provisions in thematic group three, ‘Labour Rights’ for the reference period 1 January 2017 to…

Annual Report 2021

                Download Accessible word version of Annual Report 2021

Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission – June 2022 The Commission, as independent Rapporteur on trafficking , is delighted to bring the first Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive report on the States’ actions to combat human trafficking. With this new function, the…

Ireland and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The purpose of this parallel report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to the UN Human Rights Committee is to update the Committee on relevant developments since the adoption of its List of Issues on Ireland in January 2021. It follows…

The consolidation of Garda powers touches upon a number of rights and equality issues. The Commission advises that the precise scope of the powers provided to An Garda Síochána needs to be outlined within the legislation, as opposed to being addressed in codes of practice. Additionally, a clear distinction needs to be maintained between ordinary…

In its recommendations published in May 2022 on the General Scheme of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill, the Commission notes that the General Scheme both engages and interferes with a number of fundamental human rights, protected under the Constitution and international human rights laws. In order to align this legislation with the State’s human rights…

This simplified information note seeks to provide guidance to bereaved families in their engagement with the inquest (death investigation) process conducted by a coroner under the Coroners Acts 1962-2020. It aims to simplify, but does not replace the information provided in the Information on the Rights of Families at Inquest Information Note. It seeks to…

Information on the Rights of Families at Inquests

This information note seeks to provide guidance to bereaved families in their engagement with the inquest (death investigation) process conducted by a coroner under the Coroners Acts 1962-2020. It seeks to give families a roadmap of the law, standards and procedures that apply at inquests, with a particular emphasis on the protection of human rights…

This new research from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (“the Commission”) authored by Rory Hearne and Judy Walsh, entitled “Housing Assistance and Discrimination – A Scoping Study on the ‘Housing Assistance Ground’ under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018” sets out how tenants face multiple discrimination in accessing, or maintaining, a rented home in…