Equality and the ambitions we establish for equality will inevitably be a key focus for serious debate on multi-ethnic Ireland, writes Niall Crowley of the Equality Authority.
"We must get it right," says Kevin Myers in a call for serious debate on multi-ethnic Ireland. (The Irish Times, June 4th, 2003). He rails against the "imams of the Equality Authority" who enforce "the rule of the politically correct through their own religious courts". This call to any latent islamophobia among his readers to reinforce his position doesn't impress as a good starting point for such serious debate.
Equality and the ambitions we establish for equality will inevitably be a key focus for serious debate on multi-ethnic Ireland. Discrimination needs to be addressed if we are to get it right.
Everyone loses when migrant workers are required to work excessive hours, paid below the minimum wage, or are unfairly dismissed.
There is no gain for society where Travellers do not have access to appropriate accommodation or refugees are discriminated against in seeking rented accommodation. Segregation undermines the benefits of multi-ethnic Ireland, where black and minority ethnic people, including Travellers, are denied access to venues where communities congregate, network and celebrate.
A multi-ethnic Ireland demands that we go beyond non-discrimination in our ambitions. Diversity of cultures, values, beliefs, histories, languages and practices needs to be acknowledged. It holds significant benefits for our society, just as it poses significant challenges.
Diversity in multi-ethnic Ireland has very practical implications. It is here that the hard questions lie; that the serious debate is required. How do we ensure access to society's resources for what are small minorities, and in a manner that respects their identity and is relevant to their particular needs?
How do we include small minorities in decision-making in our society?
How do we ensure that all ethnic groups, both majority and minority, are affirmed in their cultural diversity - to a point where a real, equal and critical dialogue can take place across cultures seeking and building a shared future?
Far from opening up serious debate on hard questions, Kevin Myers moves quickly on, in a confusion of inaccuracy and trivialisation, to celebrate the "ending of the absurd monopoly of power enjoyed by the Equality Agency". It has been proposed to remove cases of discrimination involving licensed premises from the ODEI-Equality Tribunal to the District Court.
Kevin Myers doesn't explore the implication of the changes proposed for multi-ethnic Ireland, or indeed for other groups experiencing inequality.
He fails to acknowledge:
That the Equality Authority is established on foot of equality legislation which is one of the commitments in the Belfast Agreement. It fulfils its statutory mandate under a board appointed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
That the ODEI-Equality Tribunal is a body completely separate from, and independent of, the Equality Authority with a statutory duty to investigate, as well as hear and decide, cases under the equality legislation.
That parties can appeal the findings of the ODEI-Equality Tribunal to the Circuit Court in equal status claims if they feel the outcome is unsatisfactory.
He does not provide a balanced analysis of the largely unappealed casework of the ODEI-Equality Tribunal. Celebration takes the place of necessary analysis of the functions and casework of the Equality Tribunal and the advantages afforded to all parties by the tribunal setting. These include:
The obligation on the Equality Tribunal to investigate claims so that the progression of the case is not dependent only on the capacity and resources of either party to gather and present evidence and complex legal arguments.
The mediation offered by the Equality Tribunal as an alternative source of resolution.
The wide right of audience offered by the Equality Tribunal, so that community groups and trade associations can represent both parties.
A low-cost setting for all parties involved.
Celebration is surely premature. The importance of the advantages afforded by a tribunal setting must be worthy of some analysis by any commentator committed to "getting it right".
Serious debate about the nature, role and powers of our equality infrastructure is important if we are to get it right in multi-ethnic Ireland.
The European Union Equality Directive, in response to the growth of racism, requires such specialised bodies.
Kevin Myers leaves little space for such debate with his denunciations of what he refers to as the "bogus theology of egalitarianism".
He rightly looks to multi-ethnic Britain to learn from their experience. Britain has gone through a period of intense debate on racism and the role of legislation and equality bodies, culminating in the Lawrence report.
This has led to an expansion in the remit of their race relations legislation to include the functions (in addition to the provision of services) of the public sector.
The imposition of a duty on these institutions to have due regard to the elimination of discrimination, the promotion of equality of opportunity and the promotion of good race relations between people of different racial groups.
These are innovations created out of long and hard experience. They raise questions as to how best we might evolve our equality infrastructure to best serve a multi-ethnic Ireland. Opinion divorced from evidence and hard facts cannot serve the debate we need.
"An Irishman's Diary" that is all too frequently one Irishman's diatribe cannot serve the debate we need.
Niall Crowley is chief executive officer of the Equality Authority