More than 40 per cent of cases initiated last year under equal status legislation were on behalf of Travellers, according to the first report of the Equality Authority, published today. And the indications are that this proportion will rise to 70 per cent by the end of this year, according to Mr Brian Merriman, a spokesman for the authority.
The headings under which equality cases may be taken, apart from equal status, are employment equality, parental leave and maternal/adoptive leave.
A total of 202 cases were brought under the Employment Equality Act, 1998. The single largest group, numbering 120 (59.4 per cent), were on grounds of gender. Pregnancy-related discrimination, unequal pay and sexual harassment emerged as the major forms of gender discrimination. Some 21 cases were on behalf of women who claimed they had been dismissed from their jobs when they became pregnant.
The authority received 9,318 inquiries. Some 35 per cent related to employment equality, 25 per cent to parental leave, 25 per cent to maternity/adoptive leave and 16 per cent to equal status.
Of the 14 cases initiated under the Equal Status Act, 1998, six were on the grounds of membership of the Traveller community, four on age grounds, three on grounds of sexual orientation and one on disability. The six cases on behalf of Travellers related to access to pubs, shops and housing.
Some 51 cases were still in hand at the end of the year, of which 35 were being taken by Travellers, all alleging discrimination in access to pubs.
The authority's report covers its first 10 weeks of operation from the middle of October 2000 to the end of December.
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