The new Equality Authority, to be operative on October 18th, will be the first port of call for those seeking to prepare a case alleging discrimination, its director, Mr Niall Crowley, told a conference in Tralee yesterday.
The conference was organised by the Kerry Network of People with Disabilities and the Kerry Law Society.
Mr Crowley pointed out that the Equal Status Bill will not yet be law when the Equality Authority becomes operational. However, the Employment Equality Act has been passed and will come into force next month.
This updates the law outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sex and extends it to race, religion, disability and membership of the Traveller community.
The Equal Status Bill is aimed at those providing goods and services, including hotels, bars, clubs and restaurants. This aspect of the legislation has been the subject of intensive lobbying, especially in relation to the obligation to serve members of the Traveller community.
The authority, which replaces the Employment Equality Agency, will be available with support and advice to those assembling and representing a case alleging discrimination, Mr Crowley explained.
The authority itself will be able to conduct inquiries, he said. As a result of an inquiry it can publish a report, make recommendations and serve a non-discrimination notice.
It will also have a role in the promotion of equality of opportunity. This could include the preparation of codes of practice.
Dr Gerard Whyte, who lectures in law in Trinity College, told the conference that it was of major concern that the 1999 Equal Status Bill did not appear to apply to public bodies.
"The report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities specifically drew attention to the problem of discrimination by Departments of State and other public bodies," he said.
"This arises particularly in relation to access to buildings, access to public amenities such as beaches and parks, participation in the administration of justice and exercise of the franchise, and stems from the failure of such bodies to provide reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities in the provision of their services."
He also said that the effective removal of the obligation on employers to make their accommodation accessible and suitable for people with disabilities was not necessary, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the original Bill restricted the employer's right to conduct a business.
That ruling could have been answered by the State being required to compensate an employer for any costs incurred in modifying his or her buildings, Dr Whyte said.