Equality Policy Statement

Equality is fundamental to developing a shared understanding between people and to building a new Northern Ireland. Equality issues affect everyone. Without equality, both in legislation as well as practice, Northern Ireland cannot become a stable, prosperous society.

Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act was designed to ensure that equality of opportunity is a legal obligation for all public bodies but Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act is only one way of working to achieve equality. Equality must be integrated effectively into all the current initiatives such as Targeting Social Need, the Bill of Rights process, Race and Sectarian Crime legislation, and the EU directives which will render discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or age unacceptable in future. Legislation itself is not enough – there remain disparities of treatment between individuals and groups.

Disparities are further exacerbated if consultation exercises are conducted in such a way as to disempower and alienate people, and the organisations working with and for them. Few community groups have the necessary capacity to respond in the way consultation processes are currently organised. Effective consultation and participation in the process of policy and decision making requires capacity building for the voluntary and community sector; without this, problems of social exclusion are exacerbated, not addressed. Representation on public bodies from disadvantaged communities also remains low.

Consultation is part of the policy development process – a good understanding of groups’ needs in a broad sense and good working relationships with groups will minimise the need for constant consultation and ensure that policy is developed well with groups taking an active, not a reactive, role. Delivery of training can often best be provided by those who have a specific understanding and experience of the needs of particular groups affected, whether these are cultural, religious, linguistic or social.

To develop the equality agenda, politicians and policy makers should:

• Encourage full, active participation in the formulation and implementation of the Single Equality Bill.
• Contribute resources, including time, money and training to ensure full representation on public bodies.
• Resource the voluntary and community sector to build capacity so that it can participate effectively in consultation exercises and policy development.
• Reorganise the present approach to consultation the better to address the complex demands and needs experienced by various groups, for example, recognition of diversity of need on a geographical basis.
• Place equality at the fore in the planning and implementation of policy – ensuring that equality and human rights are objectives in themselves and developing policy proactively.
• Recognise the nature and importance of multiple identities.
• Focus efforts on equality of outcome where appropriate, not merely equality of opportunity.
• Review the public appointments procedure to help determine what barriers exist to under-represented groups and to follow up this work with action to increase applications from these groups.
• Follow the international standards government has committed to in terms of the effective promotion of equality for all.
• Introduce legislative protection for the Irish language in the form of a comprehensive Irish Language Act.