Irish human rights and equality commission act 2014

• Enactment Date: 27 July 2014
• Act Number: 25

Number 25 of 2014
IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY COMMISSION ACT 2014
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement
2. Interpretation
3. Regulations
4. Expenses
5. Service of documents
6. Penalties
7. Repeals
PART 2
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
8. Establishment day
9. Establishment of Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
10. Functions of Commission
11. Conferral of additional functions on Commission
12. Membership of Commission
13. Appointment of members of Commission
14. Conditions of office of membership of Commission
15. Casual vacancies
16. Meetings and procedure
17. Membership of Management Board of European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
18. Advisory committees, etc.
19. Membership of either House of Oireachtas or European Parliament
20. Director
21. Functions of Director
22. Accountability of Director to Public Accounts Committee
23. Accountability of Director to other Oireachtas Committees
24. Staff of Commission
25. Strategy statement
26. Grants to Commission
27. Accounts of Commission
28. Annual report
PART 3
Enforcement and Compliance
29. Definitions for purposes of this Part
30. Provision of information to public, review of operation of certain enactments, etc.
31. Codes of practice
32. Equality reviews and equality action plans
33. Substantive notices
34. Appeal of substantive notice
35. Inquiries
36. Equality and human rights compliance notices
37. Appeal of equality and human rights compliance notice
38. Register of equality and human rights compliance notices
39. Injunctions for failure to comply with equality and human rights compliance application notice
40. Legal and other assistance
41. Institution of legal proceedings by Commission
42. Public bodies
PART 4
Dissolved Bodies
43. Dissolution of bodies
44. Transfer of functions to Commission
45. Transfer of staff
46. Transfer of land and other property
47. Transfer of rights and liabilities, and continuation of leases, licences and permissions granted by dissolved body
48. Liability for loss occurring before establishment day
49. Provisions consequent upon transfer of functions, assets and liabilities to Commission
50. Final accounts and final annual report of dissolved body
51. Saver in respect of certain schemes
PART 5
Amendment of European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003
52. Definition for purposes of this Part
53. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 2003
54. Enforceable right to compensation only to extent required by Article 5(5) of Convention
55. Text of Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
SCHEDULE 1
Repeals
SCHEDULE 2
Inquiries
SCHEDULE 3
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
SCHEDULE 4
Insertion of a Schedule 6 in Act of 2003
Acts Referred to
British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 (No. 1)
Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (No. 32)
Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2012 (No. 48)
Civil Service Commissioners Act 1956 (No. 45)
Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005
Companies Acts
Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 8)
Comptroller and Auditor General Acts 1866 to 1998
Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 (No. 12)
Education and Training Boards Act 2013 (No. 11)
Employment Equality Act 1998 (No. 21)
Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011
Equal Status Act 2000 (No. 8)
Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2012
European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (No. 20)
European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2)
Human Rights Commission Act 2000 (No. 9)
Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 (No. 31)
Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37)
Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (No. 20)
Pensions Act 1990 (No. 25)
Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 (No. 45)
Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2012
Solicitors Act 1954 (No. 36)
Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007
Number 25 of 2014
IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY COMMISSION ACT 2014
An Act to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as Coimisiún na hÉireann um Chearta an Duine agus Comhionannas or, in the English language, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission; to provide for the dissolution of the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority and the transfer of their functions to that body; to provide for the conferral of other functions on the said body; to provide that the said body is the body designated for the purposes of Directive 2014/54/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers1 ; to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 , the Equal Status Act 2000 and the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 ; to repeal the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 ; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
[27 th July, 2014]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
		Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014.
	(2) The European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 and Part 5 may be cited as the European Convention on Human Rights Acts 2003 and 2014.
	(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions, and for the repeal of different provisions of the enactments effected by section 7 .
		Interpretation
2. (1) In this Act—
	“Act of 1998” means the Employment Equality Act 1998 ;
	“Act of 2000” means the Equal Status Act 2000 ;
	“Act of 2003”, other than in Part 5, means the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003 ;
	“advisory committee” means a committee appointed by the Commission under section 18 ;
	“Chief Commissioner” has the meaning assigned to it by section 12 ;
	“Commission” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 ;
	“Council Regulation 168/2007” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights2 ;
	“dignity” means, in relation to a person, the inviolable intrinsic value, equal to other persons, that the person has and includes the recognition by other persons of such value with respect of that person;
	“Director” means the Director of the Commission;
	“discriminate”, in so far as it relates to—
	(a) matters to which the Act of 1998 relate, has the meaning it has in the section 6 of that Act, and
	(b) matters to which the Act of 2000 relate, has the meaning it has in section 3(1) or 4(1) of that Act,
	and includes the issuing of an instruction to discriminate and prohibited conduct;
	“discriminatory grounds” in so far as it relates to—
	(a) matters to which the Act of 1998 relate, has the meaning it has in the section 6(1) of that Act, and
	(b) matters to which the Act of 2000 relate, has the meaning it has in section 3(2) of that Act;
	“enactment” means a statute or an instrument made under a power conferred by statute;
	“equality action plan” and “equality review” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by section 29 ;
	“European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights” means the agency established under Council Regulation 168/2007;
	“human rights”, other than in Part 3, means—
	(a) the rights, liberties and freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by the Constitution,
	(b) the rights, liberties or freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by any agreement, treaty or convention to which the State is a party, and
	(c) without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (a) and (b), the rights, liberties and freedoms that may reasonably be inferred as being—
	(i) inherent in persons as human beings, and
	(ii) necessary to enable each person to live with dignity and participate in the economic, social or cultural life in the State;
	“inquiry” means an inquiry conducted by the Commission under section 35 ;
	“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;
	“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;
	“prohibited conduct” has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Act of 2000;
	“public body” means—
	(a) a Department of State (other than, in relation to the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces) for which a Minister of the Government is responsible,
	(b) a local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001 ,
	(c) the Health Service Executive,
	(d) a university or institute of technology,
	(e) an education and training board established under section 9 of the Education and Training Boards Act 2013 ,
	(f) any other person, body or organisation established—
	(i) by or under an enactment (other than the Companies Acts) or charter,
	(ii) by any Scheme administered by a Minister of the Government, or
	(iii) under the Companies Acts in pursuance of powers conferred by or under another enactment, and financed wholly or partly by means of money provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government or the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,
	(g) a company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts) a majority of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,
	(h) any other person, body, organisation or group financed wholly or partly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas that stands prescribed for the time being (being a...