Equal Status Bill 1990
The Equal Status Bill was published in the name of Dick Spring leader of the Labour Party in April 1990 (see attached). It included protections on the grounds of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race incl membership of the Travelling community, disability and other grounds in employment and services. This was radical and progressive legislation especially in 1990. Some time before I had heard that the Labour Party were preparing a Bill to extend the then Employment Equality Act (giving protection on grounds of sex and marital status) to the area of services. On behalf of GLEN, I asked to meet Niamh Breathnach who was Labour spokesperson and suggested she include sexual orientation and other grounds, and I contacted the NGOs for the other grounds informing them of this opportunity. And so the grounds of the Bill were widened out, kudos to Niamh and the Labour Party and Dick Spring who lead on this.. I gave Niamh a copy of the Ontario Human Rights Act as a model of inclusiveness (I had got a copy at an ILGA conference). At the launch of the Bill the lawyer who drew up the Labour Bill said it was based on that Ontario legislation. The Bill was defeated in the Dail by 67 votes to 63 in March 1992. In 1996 Minister Mervyn Taylor introduced similar legislation, passed by the Oireachtas but declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In later years revised legislation was passed and resulted in setting up of the Equality Authority. Now replaced by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
