The Equality Authority wants to equality proof all new draft legislation.Its chief executive, Mr Niall Crowley, says an equality impact assessment should be carried out on all proposed laws before they are presented to the government, writes Nuala Haughey, Social and Racial Affairs Correspondent.
"The Equality Authority could usefully have a role in carrying out an equality impact assessment on draft legislation and this something that I would like to see happen on a more systematic basis," he said in the current issue of Public Affairs Ireland.
"It would be consistent with a more coherent approach to preventing discrimination and promoting equality to facilitate the Equality Authority giving its views on draft legislation and assessing the impact of the legislation from an equality perspective," he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has rejected a call made yesterday for the withdrawal of proposed legal changes which equality groups say will diminish the rights of people facing discrimination.
Eleven groups are strongly opposed to plans to transfer the handling of discrimination cases involving licensed premises away from the Equality Tribunal to district courts.
The move is part of planned changes to the application of the Equal Status Act which are contained in the Intoxicating Liquor Bill, details of which were recently published by Mr McDowell.
Organisations, including those representing women, the disabled and Travellers, said a removal of the jurisdiction of the Equality Tribunal would represent "a serious diminution of the rights of redress for victims of discrimination".
The plan was "a major concession" to the licensed trade, which had consistently resisted the implementation of the Equal Status Act which outlawed discrimination in the marketplace, they claimed.
However, a spokesman for the Minister said the provision would not be withdrawn from the legislation on which Mr McDowell would brief an Oireachtas committee tomorrow.
He pointed out that the proposed change was recommended in a report last December by the Government-appointed Liquor Licensing Commission.
The commission had questioned the fairness and abilities of the Equality Tribunal in dealing with cases of discrimination under equality laws taken against pub owners.
Mr McDowell has also argued that as district courts already deal with applications by pub-owners for licence renewals, they were better suited to deal with discrimination complaints under the Equal Status Act as well.