IRELAND PRESENTS REPORT TO COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

AFTERNOON
HR/ESC/99/15
4 May 1999



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon started its consideration of an initial report presented by Ireland on the efforts to put the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights into effect in that country.

Introducing the report, Bernard McDonagh, Second Secretary of the Irish Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and head of the delegation, said that the full implementation of the agreement reached in Belfast on 10 April 1998 remained the key priority of the Government's Northern Ireland policy. The Government was working closely with the British Government and the pro-agreement Northern Ireland political parties to achieve this objective.

The Committee's experts queried the members of the delegation on such issues as discrimination against travellers, refugees and migrants; conditions of disabled persons; and prison overcrowding, among other things.

The 13-member Irish delegation included representatives of various Government bodies for Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General, Education and Science, Environment and Rural Development, Health and Children, Social, Community and Family Affairs, the Commission for Justice and Peace and the Council for Social Welfare.

As one of the 139 State parties to the Covenant, Ireland must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it was complying with the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 May, it will continue its consideration of the Irish report.

Report of Ireland

The initial report of Ireland (document E/1990/5/Add.34) enumerates the legislative and administrative measures undertaken by the Government to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right on an article-by-article basis. The report says that Ireland fully subscribes to article 1 of the Covenant which recognizes the right of all peoples to self-determination, to determine their political status, and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, among others.

The report says that Ireland has a tradition of accepting women as valued participants in political life. It also enumerates the measures designed to improve the position of women in employment and affirms that gender equality in eduction has been enhanced. It also provides information on the situation, level and trends of employment and unemployment in Ireland.

Further, the report includes statistical and other information on how the number, nature and frequency of occupational accidents and diseases have developed over time in the country. The report also reviews the laws and practices regarding rest, leisure, reasonable limitations or working hours, periodic holidays with pay and remuneration for public holidays. The measures taken to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge were also included in the 191-page report.

Presentation of Irish Report

BERNARD MCDONAGH, Second Secretary of Ireland's Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and head of the delegation, said that the full implementation of the agreement reached in Belfast on 10 April 1998 remained the key priority of the Government's Northern Ireland policy. The Government was working closely with the British Government and the pro-agreement Northern Ireland political parties to achieve that objective. In little over a year, considerable progress had been made, he said.

Turning to domestic affairs, Mr. McDonagh said that the Government's housing policy sought to enable every household to have available an affordable dwelling of good quality, in a good environment and at the tenure of its choice. In recent years, the Government had significantly increased it expenditure on social housing by up to 45 per cent over the past two years.

Mr. McDonagh said that the Employment Equality Act of 1998 represented a major step towards the creation of a more equal society. It prohibited discrimination on the ground of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, and membership of the traveller community. In addition, the Act provided an entitlement to equal pay for like-work and work of the same value. On 19 April 1999, the Equal Status Bill was also published giving protection against discrimination in non-workplace areas and thus complementing the Employment Equality Act.

Mr. McDonagh further said that between 1997 and 1998, over 500 new residential and 750 new day places had been provided from additional funding provided to support persons with a mental handicap or autism. The provision of services to persons with a mental handicap and those with autism was an area in which the Government was determined to deliver the highest standard.

In the field of social protection, Mr. McDonagh said that a major ongoing priority for Ireland had been to increase the rates of social security benefits up to minimally adequate levels. In addition, successive governments had been committed to meeting the recommendations made by a commission on social welfare in relation to the payment rates.

Discussion

Following the introduction of the report, Committee members raised questions on such topics as the follow-up of the Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland; prison overcrowding; the situation of refugees; and international assistance.

In response to the Committee members' questions, the delegation said that the Government of Ireland attached the highest priority to the speedy implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects and were working closely with the British Government and with the Northern Ireland political parties to that end. All of the main paramilitary groupings in Northern Ireland continued to maintain their cease-fires. While there had been violent incidents carried out by splinter groups, most notably the bombing in Omagh which killed 29 people last August, currently only small splinter groups on both sides were not observing the cease-fire.

The extent to which the peace agreement enjoyed grass-root support among the affected communities was measured by the referendums on the agreement held in North and South Ireland on 22 May 1998. In the South, 94 per cent voted to support change to the Constitution in line with the provisions of the agreement, while in the North, 71.1 per cent voted in favour of the agreement. While Unionist opinion on the agreement was more divided than that of the Nationalist community, very recent opinion polls had suggested that support for the agreement in the North had increased slightly to 73 per cent, said the delegation.

In order to reduce and to eliminate prison overcrowding, the Government would open one women's and two men's prisons, making 1,200 spaces available for prison needs, said the delegation, noting that in the past, there had been problems of overcrowding.

A number of the Committee's experts largely dwelled on the issue of disabled persons whom many experts said were subjected to all sorts of discrimination in the society. The acts of discrimination against disabled persons varied from employment and social exclusion to being neglected and treated as different beings. Commenting on the high number of disabled persons, amounting to 10 per cent of the population, one expert said that 80 per cent of the adult disabled population was unemployed. The delegation was asked to explain the causes and origins for the high rate of disability in the country. One expert asked if the Irish population considered disability as a curse.

On the issue of travellers, one expert said the life of travellers was hard and difficult; and the way they were treated did not enable them to integrate themselves within the society. Acts of discrimination against naturalized Irish citizens, refugees and migrants had also been stressed by some experts, particularly their access to education.

The delegation said that Ireland had signed but did not ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The ratification of the Convention could not take place prior to the enactment of the forthcoming Equal Status Bill, which would prohibit discrimination in non-employment areas.

Concerning discrimination against naturalized Irish citizens, the delegation said that non-Irish spouses of Irish-born citizens could only apply for nationality after three years. There were very few Irish laws that treated non-nationals differently from citizens, what discrimination existed was mainly in the political arena or concerned jury service and joining the defence forces.

Regarding the allegations of discrimination against the travelling community, the delegation said the Government had so far done its utmost to facilitate their integration as well as to provide education for their children. There were approximately 4,000 traveller families in Ireland who were either settled or residing on the roadside. Travellers did not constitute a distinct group from the population as a whole with regard to religion, language or race. Nevertheless, they were entitled to all the rights under the Covenant.

The delegation said that Irish law had already defined persons with physical and intellectual disabilities with a series of criteria. In addition, a commission on the status of people with disabilities was established in 1993 to advise the Government on the practical measures necessary to ensure that people with a disability could exercise their rights to participate in economic, social and cultural life. Sixty per cent of the commission was made up of persons with a disability or parents of disabled individuals.