Publications
In the preparation of this scheme, due regard has been given to the Guidelines issues by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. In addition, there has been a comprehensive process of consultation with relevant stakeholders, whose views and suggestions have informed the scheme.
In November 2017, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission hosted two major conferences on the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty. The purpose of these was to assist public bodies to understand their statutory obligations under the Duty, to network and to share good practice. To capture the information and learnings from these events, we…
The Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide to the European Committee of Social Rights comments on a number of matters regarding Ireland’s 15th National Report on the Implementation of the European Social Charter.
In May 2017 the Supreme Court held that in circumstances where there is no time limit on the asylum process, the absolute prohibition on seeking employment is unconstitutional. On 9 February 2018 the Court made a declaration striking down the relevant legal provisions. In response to the Supreme Court judgment, the Government has indicated its…
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has published guidance for employers and employees to seek to ensure that older workers, who wish to continue in employment, are not discriminated against in Irish workplaces. The guidance focuses on the threat of discrimination arising from the offering of fixed-term contracts to persons over the compulsory retirement…
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was invited by the Supreme Court to intervene in these proceedings as Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court). The ground to which this appeal is confined relates only to the manner in which a finding of contempt of court was made against the Appellant. Accordingly, the Commission, in its…
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was granted liberty to appear as amicus curiae in accordance with section 10(2)(e) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 by Order dated 14th October 2014.
The topics addressed in this submission are: Context: the protection of the right to liberty Proposed test in relation to deprivation of liberty Safeguards, procedural and evidential issues Review of deprivation of liberty Chemical restraint and restraint practices
This research report entitled “Attitudes to Diversity in Ireland” is published jointly by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and looks at Ireland’s increasing diversity and monitors attitudes for the period from 2002-2014. The results for Ireland are also compared with averages from ten other Western European states…
This report examines the impact of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) upon human rights and equality issues. Brexit will significantly re-orientate both Northern Ireland’s (NI’s) established human rights structures and the inter-connected human rights’ infrastructure and relationships across Ireland and the UK. This paper was written by Colin Murray, Aoife O’Donoghue…
The Belfast / Good Friday Agreement 1998 (“the 1998 Agreement”) laid down not only a mandate for national human rights institutions in NI and Ireland, but also the mechanism to ensure strong cooperation between them.The 1998 Agreement specifically envisaged the establishment of a Joint Committee with representatives of the two bodies, in NI and Ireland,…
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was granted liberty to appear in this appeal as amicus curiae in accordance with section 10(2)(e) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 by Order dated 20 October 2017.
The main provisions of the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 are amendments to two existing acts, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 (with a consequential amendment to the Workplace Relations Act 2015). These amendments cover different aspects of the employment relationship, and some aspects of enforcement….
In this Appeal, the Appellant seeks, inter alia, declarations that he was unlawfully refused permission to leave/detained by the respondent while a voluntary patient, and, presumably in the alternative, that such rules of law as rendered his alleged detention lawful as a matter of national law are incompatible with Article 5 ECHR. The Irish Human…
The Commission welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. This submission focuses on human rights and equality standards and references international treaties and best practice. This submission does not constitute an extensive review of all human rights and equality issues connected to policing. Instead, bearing…
The Commission welcomes the publication of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 and the emerging consensus on the principle of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ‘disadvantaged socio-economic status’. The Commission makes preliminary observations on the proposals under the Bill, addressing the following matters: Context of the legislative proposal Legal bases for the new ground…
The Supreme Court granted the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (‘the Commission’) liberty to appear as amicus curiae in these appeals. The Commission previously appeared as amicus curiae in the proceedings before the Court of Appeal. The central issue is whether the Minister for Justice and Equality is required to have regard to the right…
Who experiences discrimination in Ireland? Evidence from the QNHS Equality Modules Who experiences discrimination? is the first in a series of pieces of research prepared for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), as part of the Commission’s Research Programme on Human Rights and Equality. This piece of…
The Irish Human and Equality Commission’s policy document ‘Human rights and equality considerations in the development of a new legislative and regulatory framework on abortion’ is published following the Commission’s appearance before the Oireachtas Joint-Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which took place on Wednesday, 4th October 2017.
Ireland signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) on 2nd October 2007 but has yet to ratify this instrument. Ten years on, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has commissioned research on OPCAT and Ireland, authored by Professor Rachel Murray, Director of the Human Rights Implementation Centre in Bristol Law School, and Dr. Elina Steinerte.