AGENCIES:HUMAN RIGHTS campaigners have strongly criticised cuts in funding for the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission.
However, they expressed some relief that the Government chose to promote further co-operation between the two agencies rather than go ahead with its original proposal for a merger.
A total of 41 State agencies are subject to what the Government calls "rationalisation" under the terms of yesterday's Budget.
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar said the Government had decided to "copy and paste" Fine Gael policy in this area but added: "I am disappointed that Fás, the second-largest quango, will retain a budget of almost €1 billion this year."
Under the heading, "Rationalisation of State Agencies", an annex to the Budget states: "The Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission are to fully integrate their facilities, back office and administrative services and access for citizens."
The Department of Justice confirmed in a media briefing that the decentralisation of the Equality Authority to Roscrea, Co Tipperary, was "going ahead". There were already 25 employees there and another 15 would be joining them "in a matter of a couple of weeks".
However, it was envisaged - "this has to be worked through obviously" - that the the two bodies would share information technology facilities. As an independent organisation, the Equality Authority did not share such facilities with the Department of Justice. It could also "pull from the same well" in terms of procurement, eg hiring of PR services.
Amnesty International executive director Colm O'Gorman said there was "no difficulty at all with any proposal to share facilities and save costs" but that the cuts of the budgets for both organisations would have "a very significant impact" on their ability to fulfil their respective mandates.
Solicitor Michael Farrell, a member of the Human Rights Commission, said the "swingeing cuts in the budgets of the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority amounted to a direct attack on the human rights and equality structures of the State . . . and meant they would not be able to carry out their functions properly".
Joanna McMinn, chairwoman of the Equality and Rights Alliance said: "Savage budget cuts of 43 per cent for the Equality Authority and 24 per cent for the Human Rights Commission totally undermine the protection of equality and rights for everyone, but particularly the most vulnerable."
The Equality Authority's budget is being cut from €5.9 million this year to €3.2 million next year. The Human Rights Commission will be cut from €2.1 to 1.9 million.
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: "These agencies were already under-funded. The Human Rights Commission in particular was run on a shoestring budget. This is a cut of over €3 million from what was a combined budget of just €8 million."
As widely predicted, the Combat Poverty Agency is to be integrated with the Office of Social Inclusion within the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Office of the Minister of State for Integration Conor Lenihan will cease funding the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism and its functions will be absorbed into his office in the Department of Justice.
Welcoming aspects of the rationalisation programme, which he said were already proposed by his party, Mr Varadkar highlighted the merger of the National Consumer Agency with the Competition Authority; the establishment of a single Dublin Transport Authority, incorporating the Taxi Regulator and the Dublin Transport Office, and the abolition of the National Crime Council.
State agencies to be rationalised
THIRTY AGENCY "rationalisations" have been announced, including:
• The Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission are to "fully integrate their facilities" and administration services;
• the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office of Social Inclusion are to be integrated into the Department of Social and Family Affairs;
• the National Crime Council is to be abolished;
• the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism will be absorbed into the Office of the Minister for Integration in the Department of Justice;
• the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the Further Education and Training Awards Council to be amalgamated;
• closure of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education;
• the following bodies are to be subsumed into the Health Service Executive (HSE): the National Cancer Screening Service; the National Cancer Registry Board; the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Drug Treatment Centre;
• the Food Safety Association of Ireland, the Office of Tobacco Control and the Irish Medicines Board are to be amalgamated;
• the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority are to be merged,
• the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Crawford Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Ireland are to be combined while retaining separate identities.