SURVIVAL OF EQUALITY AUTHORITY ESSENTIAL

There is no sense whatsoever in talking about merging the Equality Authority with the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Data Protection Commissioner. All of these bodies certainly have their place and to dilute their important work in this way would be ludicrous.

The cost of running these bodies is relatively small, and I fail to see what real savings could be made by merging them.

This Government has consistently eroded and buried the equality issue since it abolished the Department of Equality and Law Reform back in 1997 and that attack seems to be continuing unabated.

It is beyond doubt that that more work needs to be done, but even a cursory glance at the Equality Authority’s latest annual report gives a clear indication as to the value of the work that they carry out.


The Authority has made significant gains in tackling discrimination and that work should not be compromised for the sake of a bookkeeping exercise of dubious value.

Some of the country's top lawyers have swapped their wigs for teaching hats on a trip to Ethiopia.
Former Attorney General Harry Whelehan and ten colleagues hope to change the war-torn country's legal system through a series of courses on law. The legal eagles will pass on their knowledge, skills and expertise to 70 of the country's judges, prosecutors and lawyers as part of the first-ever Rule of Law project.

The six-day mission was organised by Connect Ethiopia, an initiative set up by successful Irish businesspeople to encourage links between the two countries. The visitors, led by Connect Ethiopia co-founder and Dublin lawyer Philip Lee, want to help foster a fair, equitable and independent judiciary in the African country ravaged by civil war.

THE SUPREME Court should decide what parts of future European Union treaties need to be put to a referendum, and which do not, Fine Gael has proposed.

The publication of the position paper just two days before a joint Oireachtas committee produces its findings led to sharp exchanges between it and Fianna Fáil late last night. That committee's report casts doubts on the idea that the Lisbon Treaty, beaten by referendum in May, could be ratified by the Oireachtas alone, without a new vote.

The final text is to be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs tomorrow but a confidential draft version seen by The Irish Times states that this option is "shrouded in uncertainty" and "not a realistic option".

Under a new constitutional referendum, Fine Gael argues that the Supreme Court would gain powers to decide which parts of international treaties "require to be put to the people", and which do not.

"There is no clarity as to what aspects of international treaties require constitutional approval," the Fine Gael paper, drafted by TDs Billy Timmins and Lucinda Creighton, states.

"Such a mechanism would ensure that we have greater clarity on the issues in future referendums," said the paper, unveiled by the party leader, Enda Kenny last evening.

The change, if introduced, would not deal with the fallout from the defeated Lisbon Treaty referendum, or any subsequent referendum on the issue, Mr Timmins told The Irish Times last night.

A new referendum on Ireland's ties with the EU should not be held until late next year, and any attempt by the Government to rush the "process could have catastrophic and, possibly, irreversible consequences for the country". An identical treaty could not be put before the people again and legally-enforceable protections will have to be offered. Ireland should retain its right to have a European commissioner - which requires Lisbon to be ratified if that is to happen, while the Oireachtas should get far stronger powers to oversee the Cabinet's dealings with Europe. Ministers should be required to brief TDs before important decisions in Brussels. They should also heed TDs' views and report back to the Oireachtas.

Meanwhile, an office protected by the Constitution should supervise the implementation of EU law into Ireland, and stop over-zealous enforcement by Irish officials, Fine Gael proposes. The Government should get "clarifications" from EU partners to guarantee Ireland's controls over taxation, military neutrality, conscription and abortion. "These concerns were largely based on misinformation by those opposed to the treaty. The reality is that these issues are unaffected by the Lisbon Treaty," said Mr Kenny.

The clarifications would be given the same legal status as the opt-outs obtained by Denmark in 1992 after it rejected the Maastricht referendum.