THE CHIEF executive of the Equality Authority has resigned, saying the organisation has been made unviable by the extent of cuts to its budget, and the Government's insistence on the decentralisation of most of its remaining staff.
In a letter sent yesterday to the chairwoman of the authority's board, Angela Kerins and Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, Niall Crowley said his position had become untenable as a result of the 43 per cent cut in funding. He accused Mr Ahern of "victimising" the authority for "doing well what it was established to do".
The authority was set up under the equality legislation to combat discrimination against people on nine specific grounds and to promote equal treatment in employment and service provision.
In his resignation letter, Mr Crowley claimed Ireland was in danger of breaching the EU equal treatment directive for lack of a specialised and independent equality body to combat discrimination.
He said the "only credible explanation" for the treatment of the authority was that some of its case work, "particularly in relation to allegations of discrimination in the public sector, has been experienced as a threat by senior civil servants".
His resignation follows a meeting on Wednesday between Mr Crowley, Ms Kerins and another board member with the Minister and his officials at which a proposal from the board that would have involved a 32 per cent cut in funding while allowing the authority to continue to function on a minimal basis was rejected by the Minister.
In his resignation letter, Mr Crowley said: "I have been forced into this action by the manner in which I believe the Equality Authority has been rendered unviable by the decision of the Minister to cut its funding by 43 per cent and to continue decentralisation of its staff.
"The work of the Equality Authority has been fatally compromised by the strategy of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the Government's budget."
He instanced staff turnover arising from the inability of existing staff to move to its decentralised office in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, staff reduction due to the cutbacks and the lack of financial resources for developmental, legal and information work. These all meant that "the Equality Authority cannot operate to even a minimal level", he said.
He described as "simply not credible" the Minister's rationale for the cuts on the basis that he was prioritising crime.
He pointed out that the cuts to the authority's budget were in stark contrast to the 2 per cent cut in the Disability Authority's budget, the 1 per cent cut in the Legal Aid Board's funds, and the 9 per cent cut in the Data Protection Commissioner's funds. None of these bodies were engaged in fighting crime.
He said the authority was acknowledged across the EU as an exemplary model of the kind envisaged by the equal treatment directive, which requires states to have a specialised body to provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination, conduct surveys and publish reports.
The Minister's response to the proposal to delay the staff decentralisation and have €700,000 in additional funding was the final factor leading to his decision, he said.
"I cannot stand by and pretend that the Equality Authority is viable in these circumstances," he said.