“The purpose of this change is to promote human rights and equality issues in a more effective, efficient and cohesive way,” said a government statement on the issue.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr Alan Shatter TD, who is proposing the new Human Rights and Equality Commission, said that the objective of this body will be to “champion human rights, including the right to equality.”
"There is a compelling need to revise our human rights protection architecture. The Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority have overlapping roles. As things stand, the Irish Human Rights Commission is struggling to function due to shortage of funds,” said Minister Shatter.
“It is simply not feasible in the current economic and financial emergency to fund two bodies with overlapping functions. A leaner, more streamlined body will be able more effectively, efficiently and cohesively to champion human rights and to further maintain and further build on the international reputation of the present Irish Human Rights Commission."
The minister added that the merging of both organisations into a single entity would preserve the “vital human rights and equality agendas” as well as strengthening them.
“It [the new body] will also have the virtue of preserving the integrity of our human-rights commitment under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, and enhancing our compliance with international human rights law and various EU Directives," said Minister Shatter.
The minister also noted that he will now consult with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. He said: "The proposal for a new Human Rights and Equality Commission will preserve the integrity of our commitment under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to keep equivalence of human rights arrangements between the two jurisdictions."
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Dr Maurice Manning, President of the Irish Human Rights Commission, said of the announcement that it is something he and the IHRC have been expecting for some time. “We are firmly of the view that a stand-alone Human Rights Commission offers the most suitable prospect for human rights protection in Ireland. However, I am personally reassured by the Minister for Justice’s statement that he is committed to enhancing and strengthening the state’s human rights and equality structures, and share his confidence that this body can live up to the highest international standards. We look forward to an early meeting with the minister and to playing a leading role in shaping the proposed body."
Ireland’s independent human rights watchdog, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), was also in agreement with Minister Shatter’s proposal.
ICCL Director Mr Mark Kelly said that the minister’s announcement “echoes consistent recommendations from civil society coalitions to the United Nations that the current state-funded human rights and equality bodies be reformed to produce a more coherent and effective institutional framework for the protection and promotion of human rights.”
He added that the ICCL “strongly welcomes the Minister’s commitment that the new Human Rights and Equality Commission will unequivocally keep faith with the ‘Paris Principles’ on national human rights bodies."
“One notable omission in the minister’s statement is that it does not explicitly mention the new body inheriting the function currently vested in the Equality Authority to assist vulnerable people to bring cases to the Equality Tribunal and/or the courts. We trust that this oversight will be remedied when detailed arrangements are made for the establishment of an enhanced and integrated Human Rights and Equality Commission,” Mr Kelly added.
The new body is expected to comprise 12 board members, compared to the present bodies which have 27 board members altogether. According to a government statement, savings will be made on board and administration fees.
