Equality & Rights Alliance (ERA) welcomes the budget announcement that the equality and rights bodies will share back office and administrative services instead of being fully merged as originally proposed.
However, savage budget cuts of 43% for the Equality Authority and 24% for the Human Rights Commission totally undermine the protection of equality and rights for everyone, but particularly the most vulnerable in society, it stated.
“We are supportive of the move to share services without a full merger because the functions and mandates of the individual agencies have been protected,” said ERA chairperson Joanna McMinn. “However, the savage budget cuts proposed to these bodies, which are already grossly under-funded, completely undermine the Government’s budget rhetoric about protecting the most vulnerable in society.”
The Alliance of 60 civil society organisations said that it would continue to work together to ensure that rights and equality protection are strengthened.
Equality & Rights Alliance represents nearly 3 million people including women, older people, carers, people with disabilities,children, workers, immigrants, Travellers and gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people and many others.
Joanna McMinn and Colm O’Gorman, Amnesty International available for comment