Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Equality Commission under fire

"The Equality Commission is a toothless body, which is not delivering the equality agenda promised under the Good Friday Agreement," says Sinn Féin's Paul Butler.

Butler made his remarks after he received a letter from the Commission about Lisburn Council's policy of flying flags at the Council's offices.

"This letter is all the Equality Commission can come up with after two years of Sinn Féin raising the matter with them. The Commission is utterly failing to have any effect in places like Lisburn in bringing about equality," said Butler.

The correspondence from the Equality Commission made no reference as to what they intend to do to force local authorities to take affirmative action around the issues like the flying of flags and comes in the same week that Lisburn Council intend to fly the Union flag to officially commemorate the 12 July.

The reply to Councillor Butler comes just a week after Ulster Unionist Party and Democratic Unionist Party councillors of Lisburn voted to exclude all Sinn Féin, SDLP and Alliance members from council positions at its AGM.

Sinn Féin Upper Bann representative and equality spokesperson Dr. Dara O'Hagan met with officials from the Office of First Minister/Deputy First Minister on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing review of the Equality Commission and to raise a number of concerns about the Commission and the manner in which the equality agenda is being dismantled.

"Sinn Féin, along with many others who work in the equality field, has serious concerns that a minimalist approach to equality is being adopted by the Commission and its parent department, OFM/DFM," said O'Hagan. "Indeed, there are fears that modest gains made are being rolled back. This is not acceptable. Equality remains a central plank of the Good Friday Agreement. Five years on we should be further along the path to eradicating discrimination and inequality."