Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
398. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the structures in place to allow people to enforce their rights under the equal status Acts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31496/26]
View answer399. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of bodies that have been regulated in relation to breaches of the equal status Acts, the agency that is tasked with enforcing these acts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31497/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 398 and 399 together.
The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education. The Acts cover the grounds of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. In addition, the Acts prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation services against people who are in receipt of rent supplement, housing assistance, or social welfare payments.
The Acts provide recourse to an individual who feels they have been discriminated against. Complaints regarding breaches of equality legislation may be pursued before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The WRC is an independent, statutory body which was established under the Workplace Relations Act 2015.
Cases heard by the WRC are a matter of public record and the outcomes can be found on their website. The WRC also publishes annual reports with breakdowns of the numbers and types of cases heard. Its most recent report, for 2025, was published recently and is also available on the WRC website.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is Ireland’s independent National Human Rights Institution and National Equality Body. As part of its remit, IHREC maintains a "Your Rights" page with information for the public on Ireland's equality legislation and how to bring a complaint to the WRC. This can be found here: www.ihrec.ie/your-rights.
The Standards for Equality Bodies Directives, which will be transposed in the coming weeks, set out common EU-wide minimum requirements for equality bodies in a number of key areas, including with regard to carrying our inquiries. As part of this transposition, IHREC 's ability to conduct inquiries into breaches of the principle of equal treatment will be strengthened.
