Image via Wikipedia … and they say that they are enforcing the law in not allowing them access to travel.
I have received responses from Barry Kenny in Iarnród Éireann in relation to the post on the enforcement on the ban on use of the Free travel pass by same sex couples.
The first response
Iarnród Éireann, in common with other public transport providers, are obliged to ensure the terms of the Free Travel Scheme as set out by the Department of Social and Family Affairs are adhered to. As you correctly allude to in your post, the DSFA pays for free travel, and therefore it is the authority which sets the parameters of who is and who is not entitled to free travel. To ensure we remain within these parameters, we would always ensure that our staff are aware of the current provisions as they apply. The notice in question is a direct copy of the terms and conditions of the travel scheme that we are obliged to operate for the DSFA, and is posted in the interior of a ticket checkers booth in Heuston Station.
I would advise therefore that any issue you have with these provisions be addressed to the DSFA.
I responded by indicating that it was the enforcement of the law and the points contained in my original post that I was interested in and I outlined them again.
What follows below is Barry Kenny’s response on behalf of the company. My questions are in italics and his repsonses are in bold print.
Have you any incidence of same sex couples attempting travel on one of these passes since 2004 and committing revenue offences?
Yes, there have been a number of such instances.
What training staff have in dealing with the matter should someone attempt to be accompanied by someone of the same gender on their travel pass?
Staff are trained to be aware of the relevant ticketing / passes required. No specific training is required in relation to this issue.
Have Iarnród Éireann considered reporting on the effects of this scheme on lesbians and gay men to the various Government departments involved as part of the company’s equality mandate.
This is a matter of national policy for the DSFA.
What about the person who did get a pass for his partner in the settlement of his case versus the Department of Social and Family Affairs in 2003 – is he safe to take the train?? Or will a ticket checker armed with this notice stop him the next time he sees him try to use the pass that he was rightfully granted.
If the pass is granted as part of a settlement between the DSFA and their client, we will of course honour the entitlement – as stated previously, the DSFA issue facilities and decree who can and cannot benefit.
Finally I assume from your previous response that the notice will remain on display viewable by the public?. Do Iarnród Éireann intend to do any public campaigns advising on the use of and eligibility to Free Travel Passes?
The notice will remain in the staff area. DSFA is responsible for ensuring all pass holders are aware of the provisions of the scheme.
So there we have it – people are being stopped from travelling because they have been found to be wanting to be treated equally.
I know all about the law and know what needs to be done to change the law. But what really stands out to me is the fact that there are couples out there who are trying to live their lives and enforce equality and there’s a notice in a ticket checkers kiosk in Heuston that tells staff to make sure they can’t get on the train like their married neighbours and heterosexual unmarried couple cohorts can. It’s not just the law that’s offensive but I don’t think Iarnród Éireann see the offence.
It might be time to take a train….
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3693c45b-cb23-4afa-a595-3c2aee97efaf)
This is unbelievable. It seems like a totally unnecessary rule designed to cause hassle for those living outside “the norm”. If the pass is designed to be used by an individuals companion, surely it is up to the individual who that companion is. Another reason to hate the Iarnoid Eireann.
Irish Rail endorses same-sex descrimination? : Alexia Golez // Sep 2, 2008 at 14:19
[...] I’m shocked to read that instutional same-sex descrimination is rife in Irish Rail over at Suzy’s. She has a snap of a confidential document (posted in a place where the public can view it) spelling out in no uncertain terms that same-sex couples are to be refused free travel even though they possess the necessary passes. Go read her post. Here’s their response. [...]
Proof that proper civil unions are needed in this country asap!
PLease print Barry Kenny’s email address. People need to write to him to let him know they are boycotting Irish Rail
Simon – you need to contact the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Mary Hanafin and tell her you want the law changed. minister@welfare.ie
You could also contact Noel Dempsey, Minister for Transport, who has the government remit for CIE and the companies and indeed appoints the board. Ask him to get the sign taken down and for gay people to be treated more sensitivly and for the law to be changed so that they can use free travel like any other couple. – Noel.Dempsey@oireachtas.ie
LinkListing Tuesday // Sep 2, 2008 at 14:41
[...] takes a step back into the dark ages, its disturbing to see this kind of rubbish [...]
Sweet jebus – for some reason I thought this kind of bigotry finished way back in the stone age.
Well done MP- you’ve done all this is in the last 24 hours to expose, challenge and hold accountable a blatant piece of homophobic policy in contravention of the Equal Status Act and an Equality tribunal finding… and you did it all without a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies- GO YOU! Now that’s activism!
[i]you need to contact the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Mary Hanafin and tell her you want the law changed. minister@welfare.ie[/i]
done.
Now there’s an action waiting to happen, anyone have a travel pass where they want a same-sex companion?
Asked it on my own blog but worth repeating:
What of the Irish Rail employees that have to do this and don’t want to? How do they feel about it? Have they protested? Were they threatened with sanctions if they didn’t do this?
With their unions so pro-equality, I wonder did they make any issue of it?
They’ve certainly striked when people didn’t get equal pay.
This a flagrant brach of numerous EU laws to my mind. I suggest a mass protest, make life difficult for each end every person employed by these hateful fascists.
Its quite objectionable to think that the accusation of fraud could be used against older gay couples. I would think in any case the number willing to reveal themselves to be a couple would be very tiny, so savings would be minute. Its spiteful and vindictive. Would be interesting to see where up the line of accountability the decision to produce this was taken. Would a FOI request do this, I wonder?
In fairness to Iarnrod Eireann, they are following the law here. Same-sex relationships are not recognised yet and, as a semi-state, they are not legally entitled to go out on a limb and recognise something there is no legal basis for. So legally, any attempt to do this would be fraud. Law and justice are not the same thing.
Then again, Damien has a point – the unions need to wake up and realise some of their very own members might some day (shock, horror!) be affected by this, and they will have done nothing about it.
Choose your battles and write to Mary Hanafin. She’s never been exactly pro-gay and putting her in charge of DSFA was always going to be a retrograde step. She has a very old “pro-family” Fianna Fail ethos, along with a lot of the current Cabinet.
Irish Rail may simply be following the law. That doesn’t excuse them. During segregation in the US and Apartheid in SOuth Africa businesses who refused to serve black customers were also obeying the law. They were still acting in an immoral way. I got a reply from Mary Hanafin asking for my postal address so she can write me a letter to address my concerns. I provided her with my address and told her I was looking forward to hearing her proposals for abolishing the homophobic elements of the Social Welfare Amendment Act 2004. I think she needs to receive many, many emails of protest.
I’m even angrier now. I’ve just written to our minister:
Dear Minister Hanafin,
The reports on Maman Poulet’s blog began when I saw the public notices in Heuston Station and took the photos which I sent to her and to some others.
It is difficult to express the shock I felt when I saw the notices. Under the law, unmarried people can claim a companion pass so long as their companion is of the opposite sex. I find it extraordinarily difficult to fathom how anyone in our country could imagine this to be in any way sensible. It has nothing to do with marriage. It has everything to do with active discrimination against gay and lesbians in Ireland. It is shameful.
Even if one were to accept the institutionalized homophobia we enjoy living under your own political party, the rule prevents an old heterosexual person from choosing a non-sexual, purely platonic travel companion for the arbitrary reason of being of the same sex. Is this how we wish to treat our seniors?
Try to remember, please, that the Nazis sent gay people to death in concentration camps just as they sent Jews and gypsies and people with Down syndrome. Try, minister, try to imagine what Irish members of this minority feel about the way their country treats them.
And then do something about it, please.
ME
Many people on other sites have pointed out that disabled people often avail of free travel passes for their son or daughter
I wonder are Irish Rail specifically checking this?
The travel pass for disabled people is different – it is awarded to people who cannot travel alone so that a ‘companion’ can accompany them – it’s not a spousal travel pass.
From SW40
Spouses and companions
If you have a free travel pass and you are married or cohabiting (that is, living with a man or woman as husband and wife), you are entitled to a Free Travel Pass which allows your partner to accompany you free of charge when travelling. (This does not apply to person’s under age 66 who are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or who are nominated carers for people getting Constant Attendance Allowance or Prescribed Relatives Allowance from Department Social and Family Affairs). Of course, your spouse should get a travel pass in his/her own right if he/she qualifies.
In addition, some people who are unable to use the pass because they are unable to travel alone may get a Companion Free Travel Pass. This allows the holder to be accompanied by any person over 16 years of age, free of charge. Click here to find out more about qualifying for a Companion Free Travel Pass.
Social Welfare Policy under Equality Review | Maman Poulet // Sep 6, 2008 at 01:37
[...] by Newstalk (link to print version of their report is no longer available) about the Free Travel Pass issue following the publication of that article in the Irish [...]
Iarnród Éireann? Mary Coughlan? Mary Hanafin? All a pack of shits | gaelick // Mar 23, 2010 at 19:12
[...] And it seems my question has been answered during the week by Maman Poulet [link and link]: [...]