Rights body to include six new positions

The Government has agreed to create an extra six positions on the Human Rights Commission. This follows complaints that it had largely ignored recommendations made by a selection committee it established.

The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said he would be announcing the names of the additional commissioners in due course. He said the commission should begin its work on an interim basis in the meantime.

The controversy arose when only one person of the eight nominated by the selection committee was offered a place on the new commission. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, met with Mr O'Donoghue on Monday to discuss this and other human rights issues.

Mrs Robinson told The Irish Times on Monday that the process by which members of the commission were appointed was "extraordinarily important in order to establish that the commission is independent and prepared to criticise the government".

Earlier yesterday, a group of voluntary organisations called on Mr O'Donoghue to make clear the criteria on which it had appointed people to the commission. The group included the National Women's Council of Ireland, the National Traveller Women's Forum and the Irish Refugee Council.