THE Minister for Equality and Law Reform has defended his decision to transfer the equality service of the Labour Relations Commission to his own Department. The four equality officers involved adjudicate on employment equality cases, but their brief is being broadened to cover discrimination against people on the basis of disability, age, religion and other grounds.
The mode has attracted criticism from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and the LRC itself. The Fianna Fail spokeswoman on Enterprise and Employment, Ms Mary O'Rourke, said the move was retrogressive and questioned the advisability of transferring officers with a quasi judicial function into a Government department.
Mr Taylor said the transfer would create a "one stop shop for enforcing equality laws". The officers were being given new powers to investigate wide ranging discriminatory practises under the Employment Equality Bill and the Equal Status Bill. Separating the equality service functions between industrial relations agencies and his own Department would be a waste of taxpayers money.
He said the Employment Equality Bill, which contains the proposed transfer of the equality service to his Department, would still allow equality officers in employment cases to be appealed to the Labour Court. The court would continue to deal with unfair dismissal cases, including those involving sexual harassment.
On Tuesday, the chairwoman of the LRC, Ms Catherine Forde, said the transfer of the service would damage industrial relations, and said the commission "was neither consulted on this change nor its views sought on the efficacy of such a proposal".
She criticised the Minister publicly after the board failed to convince Mr Taylor or the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, of the need to withdraw the amendment. The board, which was only reappointed by Mr Bruton three weeks ago, fully supported Ms Forde's stance.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation have made strong representations to Mr Taylor and Mr Bruton in support of the LRC.
IBEC director Mr Turlough O'Sullivan said employers and trade unions believed strongly that the employment equality aspects of the new legislation should remain within the ambit of the State's industrial relations machinery.
The assistant general secretary of the ICTU, Mr Kevin Duffy, said the feelings of the trade union movement had been made clear to Mr Taylor. "We're moving in the direction of mainstreaming equality into industrial relations. Taking it away and putting it into a separate department is running counter to this whole trend", he said.