The Minister for Justice has robustly defended his decision to transfer authority for handling discrimination claims against publicans away from the Equality Authority to District Courts.
Mr Michael McDowell has come in for criticism for the planned move, with Traveller groups and equality organisations accusing the Government of caving into the vintners' lobby and undermining equality laws.
However, Mr McDowell yesterday defended the proposal, saying the equality law would be strengthened by current proposals, not diluted at the behest of publicans. The changes to how discrimination claims against publicans are handled is included in the Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003, currently before the Oireachtas. The Bill will also tighten licensing laws to deal with the problem of drink-related anti-social behaviour.
Mr McDowell said the change would allow one venue, the District Court, to handle all matters related to access and service in licensed premises, whether under the liquor licensing code or under equality legislation.
Speaking after he launched the Equality Tribunal's annual report for last year, the Minister said the current situation in which a decision to permit or refuse entry or service could expose a licensee to actions in two jurisdictions - the Equality Tribunal and the District Court - is unsatisfactory. The planned changes would not weaken equality laws, he said.
"We have strengthened the equality law. We have provided that in future public houses and the bars of hotels, which are found by the District Court to discriminate, face (temporary) closure," he said.
"That's not in the law at the moment. And secondly, pubs which consistently discriminate face forfeiture of their license. So it's not as if we are diluting the law at the behest of publicans.
"On the contrary, we are just providing that one single jurisdiction would provide both sides of the same question."
He also stressed that the change was not a reflection on the Equality Tribunal, or its decisions in relation to liquor licensing cases. Three-quarters of all complaints brought to the tribunal last year of discrimination by goods and service providers were instigated by Travellers, with three-quarters of those relating to alleged discrimination on licensed premises.
The director of the Equality Tribunal, Ms Melanie Pine, welcomed the Minister's statements that the transfer of jurisdiction to the District Court did not reflect lack of confidence in the tribunal. She was critical that the recent Report of the Commission on Liquor Licensing repeated a number of allegations made to it that the tribunal did not correctly observe fair procedures.