The exploitation of foreign workers as domestic staff in private homes is to be outlawed.
Foreign workers in private houses, receiving low wages and conditions unacceptable to Irish workers, are to be protected under amendments to the Employment Equality Act being brought forward by Mr Willie O'Dea.
The Minister of State for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will be circulating this and other proposed amendments to Government Departments for their comments within the next few weeks.
Mr O'Dea's proposals come at a time when there is growing evidence of the exploitation of foreign domestics in Irish homes. He told The Irish Times that, following a Marian Finucane programme on the subject, he had conducted his own research on the matter, and found that there was something in the allegations.
"It is there, it is wrong, and we're going to stop it," he said.However, abuses had been difficult to tackle up to now because those in domestic employment were not protected by the Employment Equality Act. This outlaws discrimination on nine grounds, including gender, family status and race. Any foreign domestic worker seeking redress would have been unable to use this Act and argue for parity of wages and treatment with Irish workers in similar employment.
With the addition of private homes to the legislation, any foreign nanny, for example, will be able to allege discrimination if her wages and conditions are less than those enjoyed by Irish workers in similar positions. Once a prima facie case is established, it will be up to the employer to prove that there is no such discrimination.
Other amendments being proposed by Mr O'Dea cover disability and indirect discrimination.
The outlawing of discrimination against people with disabilities, and a requirement that employers ensured they received the assistance necessary to access employment, was struck down by the Supreme Court when the Act was referred to it by the then president, Mrs Mary Robinson. It was held to contravene the constitutional right to private property because of the cost this could impose on employers, and the Act was then re-presented to the Dail in amended form, which specified that the costs would be no more than nominal.
However, in a recent case ruled on by the Equality Tribunal, this was interpreted in the light of the overall resources of the company, meaning that companies with substantial resources would be expected to make reasonable provision for the needs of employees with disabilities.
This view will now be incorporated into the legislation, with a proviso that employers will have to make whatever adjustments necessary, provided they do not impose a "disproportionate burden" on them. Mr O'Dea said that a close examination of the Supreme Court judgment suggested this fell within it.
The law on indirect discrimination will also be strengthened, to impose a burden of proof on the employer to prove that he or she did not discriminate.