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Press Release on proposed changes to the Liquor Licensing
THE IRISH TRAVELLER MOVEMENT SEE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LIQUOR LICENSING ARE A STEP BACKWARD FOR EQUALITY.
Date:28 May 2003
The Irish Traveller Movement, expresses its dismay and deep disappointment at the recent announcement by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the issue of discrimination by publicans is to be removed from the competence of the equality machinery set up under the Equal Status Act 2000.
While the Equality Status Act was hailed as a huge step forward in addressing the issue of discrimination in Irish Society, ITM regards the proposed legislation as a quantum step backwards. By transferring discrimination issues to District Courts, potential victims of discrimination will yet again find that they are effectively excluded from the justice system.
Where the Equality Authority and Tribunal provided a cheap, accessible and informal method of addressing claims of discrimination, the District Court is likely to prove prohibitively expensive and formalistic for the majority of Travellers. This system clearly favours the pub trade which has the considerable resources required to fight discrimination cases all the way through the court system. ITM believes that this legislation sends a clear message to members of the licensing trade that they can discriminate against Travellers, and other vulnerable groups in society, and that they can continue to do so with virtual impunity.
The Expertise that the Equality Tribunal has built up will be lost to judges who may have little or no training in equality issues, and have often shown themselves to be less than sensitive in dealing with minority groups, again reinforcing the discrimination such groups suffer from. Rather than undermining the valuable work already done in combating discrimination, it would have been more appropriate for the Government and the Minister for Justice to look at how they could resource the EA better to tackle the lack of real equality in Irish Society. It is paradoxical that the same Minister who has been so vocal in criticising the costly nature of the legal system in Ireland should now see fit to transfer the issue of discrimination vis a vis the licensing trade to the already overloaded Court system.
When dealing with the issue of discrimination, it is hard to understand why pubs should be treated any differently from any other service provider? Mr. David Joyce of the Irish Traveller Movement, speaking this morning at a consultation seminar on poverty and exclusion, jointly hosted by the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office for Social Exclusion, stated that the proposed legislation is a direct attack on the role of the Equality Authority and largely removes the protection of the Equal Status Act from the Traveller Community.
The Irish traveller Movement is a national membership organisation of individuals and groups working for equality for Travellers in Irish Society.
For Further Information contact David Joyce or Gráinne O’Toole
Phone: 6796577/ e-mail: itmtrav@indigo.ie
www.itmtrav.com