A sum of £5 million has been made available to the Equality Authority to do reviews and draw up action plans in organisations to help eliminate discrimination, the chief executive of the authority, Mr Niall Crowley, has said.
The reviews will start in semi-State organisations in September and will eventually be expanded to other companies with the aim of promoting fair procedures and transparency on the part of employers and employees.
Addressing a seminar in Dublin, Mr Crowley said that the reviews would involve a study of the equality situation in an organisation, setting goals and developing an action plan. He said the authority had been accorded the role under the National Development Plan.
The new equality and anti-discrimination legislation in the workplace covered gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion and membership of the Traveller community.
Mr Crowley said the reviews would primarily have a gender focus. There was a requirement to ensure this included a specific exploration of women's situations from within the other eight grounds of the legislation.
A panel of equality reviewers would be established and grants made available to organisations to secure the services of a consultant from the panel.
The chairman of the Equality Authority, Ms Kate Hayes, told the seminar on "Equality and diversity in the State-sponsored sector" that the economic and social climate was supportive of efforts to achieve greater equality.
The National Development Plan and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness contained important commitments on equality, she said.