The Equality Tribunal has reported a rise in the number of people claiming job discrimination on race grounds.
This is accompanied by a fall in the number of Travellers claiming discrimination in the provision of services, according to the tribunal's quarterly figures for the first three months of 2003 published today.
The Equality Tribunal is the statutory body that investigates or mediates on claims of discrimination under the Employment Equality Act and the Equal Status Act, covering employment and the provision of services.
The figures also show a 50 per cent jump in the number of cases relating to employment discrimination, from 66 in the first three months of last year to 100 in the first quarter of this year.
Most of the increase is accounted for by a huge increase in the number of people alleging discrimination on race grounds, up from five last year to 33 this year. This excludes those alleging discrimination as members of the Travelling community, which is a separate category, and which produced only one such allegation in the first three months of the year.
The other grounds on which discrimination are outlawed are age, sex, gender, marital status, family status, religion and sexual orientation. There were no significant differences between the number seeking redress on these grounds this year and last, and there were no cases at all in the first quarter of either year on the religion or marital status grounds.
This year also saw claims of discrimination under the Pension Act for the first time. This outlaws discrimination on the gender ground only, and there were six such cases taken.
The most significant change in the use of the tribunal for actions under the Equal Status Act was by members of the Travelling community, where the number of cases taken fell from 167 to 138 between 2002 and 2003.
There was also a significant difference in the outcomes of cases between the first quarter of this year and the same period last year. This year the claimant won in only five out of 13 decisions.
This compares with 13 out of 20 being decided in favour of the claimant in the same period last year. This difference was reflected in the money awarded. with €3,200 being awarded in compensation so far this year, compared with €20,170 for the same period last year.
In relation to employment, three decisions favoured the claimants, and 10 favoured the respondent. However, one of those three affected a group of 43 claimants. No money was awarded in this case, which resulted in a direction for action instead.
The other significant change between 2002 and 2003 was the increased use of the tribunal's mediation service. A total of 43 cases have been referred for mediation so far this year, compared with 31 in the first three months of 2002, and 19 of the 43 were resolved there, compared with three last year.
Commenting on the figures, the director of the tribunal, Ms Melanie Pine, said the jump in employment equality claims was striking. "It is clear that people are becoming much more familiar with the new equality rights, particularly on the new grounds." She also welcomed the trend towards mediation.