Deaglán de Bréadún’s report in this morning’s Irish Times does not come a surprise. The Department of Justice had a meeting yesterday morning with the agencies linked to it and the Equality Authority, the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Data Protection Commissioner have been told their days are numbered.
Well they have been told that they’re to merge and ‘there’s no point fighting it – it’s going to happen.’
And there probably won’t be anyone else around to fight it anyway as it’s July, all the groups who seek the protection of the agencies involved are too stressed, too linked to government funding they are trying to keep and too busy working with marginalised commuunities to be able to fight it. Or even find the time heaven forbid if they were ‘consulted’!
Fine Gael want to see the quangos merge and sod the consequences. I bet the voices that are raised will say that the Government (and I mean the last 10 years of government) want to see the thorns in their sides that the Equality Authority and to a far lesser extent in my opinion, the Irish Human Rights Commission, neutered into something mangled and fiscal rectitude is such an appropriate excuse.
They tried to decentralise the Equality Authority but Roscrea got a lot of opposition by the staff and some quiet objections from some of the people who seek the advice and information provided by the authority. For me it was the authority’s research, watching brief and monitoring role which was the one which caused the most pricks of conscience for some and headaches for a few and reassurance for others. The Equality Authority’s report for 2007 is being launched today - Carol Coulter has some examples of the work of the authority in respect of Gender Identity discrimination - I expect there will be a few rewritten speeches and a few interesting questions at the launch.
I’ll leave Damien and others to comment on the implications for the Data Protection Commissioners Office. (I doubt there will be many at the wake!) But maybe others want to join me in speculating on the effects of the merger of the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority. How ‘natural a fit’ would these agencies be?
I’d love to think that this merger could be a new impetus for protecting and enhancing human rights protections and reinforcing the importance of equality of outcome for all – I’m not against change at all – it’s needed to challenge and develop policy and it’s implementation. However being told that it’s not worth fighting it and given it’s a Government Departmental Secretary doing the reorganising rather that a minister with a new zeal for policy reform does not bode well.
While reading the reactions regarding the social welfare administration changes the other day I was wondering about who’ll still be around in the non political arena (sort of what Giddens (gulp!) might have meant by ‘the third way’) to call the Government on the impact of their cuts/search for cuts? AKA Social Partnership! Perhaps there has been far too much time spent shouting at Lisbon and Sarkozy and taking the eye off the ball on the things going on at home?
Bloody hell.
“Fine Gael want to see the quangos merge and sod the consequences.” I believe your assertion that Fine Gael want to see these specific entities merged and as you say ‘sod the consequences’ is incorrect. Fine Gael made no specific reference to merging these agencies you refer to in the Streamlining Government document. The suggestion that what the government are proposing is the same as the approach suggested by Fine Gael is wrong.
Fine Gael did identify some other agencies that could be merged or abolished but did not suggest the ones you’re talking about being amalgamated. Fine Gael have suggested merging agencies that have overlapping functionality and in particular the intent is to save on back room administrative resources. Do we really need separate people to do the office work and work reception for for the “Censorship of Publication Appeals Board” and the “Censorship of Films Appeals Board”?
The only reference made to the Irish Human Rights Commission that I could find was that “Consideration could also be given to a single All-Ireland Human Rights Commission. However, in all these areas – as well as other areas where there may be synergies – it is far too early in the lifetime of devolution to advance such
proposals,…”
the document is here – http://www.finegael.ie/news/documents/streamlining%20govt%20web.pdf
It’s a long document but that’s mostly the appendices with a listing of all the agencies that currently exist. It is quite readable as these things go.
Of course people are taking their eye off the ball [by which I refer to the pooh of the economy that the govt keeps trying to sweep under the rug]…anything that keeps people focused on other things seems to be fair game for this tattered administration.
For example, Welfare announced how all ‘dem foreigners’ not only took our jobs but now take our welfare … and all the lads give the foreign-looking welfare recipients the evil eye up at Blanch SWO. Brilliant politics… nobody is focusing on the increase in the dole figures now that racism is let loose in the dole queue.
I see this equality realignment initiative, or however we might wish to phrase it as being purely a political stint. Dermot Ahern is no friend of equality politics and would love to put vocal dissidents back in their box … down to Roscrea is it?
I would have thought that in terms of Giddensian politics, the govt should be facilitating citizens in order to access information so that they can plan for and live better lives. All we have here is nanny state thats resists gender politics and holds back social change tooth and nail. Now apparently we need passports to leave for the UK, perhaps we can stop the pregnant women leaving too while we’re at it. Rewritten speeches will only really start when this shower is kicked out of office…
There’s also a rumour that the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism has a very limited mortality…
Rumours continue to abound that Combat Poverty Agency and the National Consumer Agency are both also facing the chop.
So, back to the days where we promote inequality at all levels in Ireland, with no bodies there to protect against social inequality (EA), economic inequality (CPA) or human rights abuses (IHRC). And no bodies to prevent market-led mayhem (DPC and NCA).
Yay – this way lies fun….
And now they seem to want to get rid of Combat Poverty and the National Consumer Agency too
Neil Ward : Irish blogs - guiding me through the recession // Jul 29, 2008 at 13:29
[...] downturn-related news items as they arise. In a similar vein, the Cedar Lounge Revolution, Maman Poulet and Mulley’s Fluffy Links are increasingly featuring analyses of various aspects of [...]
There was a report in the Sunday Business Post about a meeting on Friday where Departmental officials told the Equality Authority that its budget will be cut by 8 percent*. What is interesting about this is the fact that the SBP goes to press on a Thursday, so it had to have had the leak before the Equality Authority officials were given the information.
The timing of the item you blog about is also interesting. It made the news on the same day the Equality Authority was launching its annual report. A cynic might wonder if it was meant to distract from or dilute the details of the Authority’s annual report, which demonstrates the need for a strong and effective Equality Authority – hardly something the EA would do itself.
Is the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform systematically leaking against the Equality Authority?
____
*http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=34755-qqqx=1.asp
Later reports (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0726/1217013248293.html) also included the National Disability Authority in this merger plan, which isn’t a huge surprise given that they share a Chairperson with the EA. It is very hard to see any logic in including the DPC in this grouping. They have little in common with the others, other than the fact that they come under the ‘Justice’ umbrella.
cearta.ie » Vouching for Consumers // Sep 4, 2008 at 11:26
[...] under it is vigilant and active in that goal, and that it is allowed to be (for example, it may not survive in its current form calls (for example, by Fine Gael) for its abolition as part of the [...]
Cutting the minders and protectors | Maman Poulet // Oct 14, 2008 at 22:40
[...] were 41 mergers or scrappings of government NGO’s announced today and the mooted merger of the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission has been downgraded to a sharing of back [...]
Niall Crowley resigns as Equality Authority CEO | Maman Poulet // Dec 11, 2008 at 23:01
[...] of legislation, impending decentralisation, proposed mergers, and finally 43% of a budget cut when other agencies only had cuts of 5-10% at most – the writing [...]
And that was the year that was… | Maman Poulet // Dec 31, 2008 at 20:46
[...] saw the beginning of the end of properly funded independent equality and human rights infrastructures in Ireland and for the rest [...]
CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL, FOR SURE.
BIG DROP IN STANDERDS LED BY THE DAIL, SHOULD THE EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSIONER TAKE IRELAND TO TASK FOR NON COMPLIANCE WITH DIRECTIVE, EVEN THOUGH ROSCREA STAFF ARE IN PLACE (OR SO WE ARE TOLD), OF COURSE THEY SHOULD BUT THE ACTION COULD ALSO BE STARTED BY CURRENT OR FORMER STAFF AS STAFF OF THE AUTHORITY.
Is there still talk of some merger Senator Deirdre deBurca said recently
http://www.whatistandfor.ie/2009/11/equality-issues-discussion-with-equality-rights-alliance/
“Obviously, these organisations or bodies will be merged”