The Irish Human Rights Commission should not face further cuts in Government funding in the forthcoming budget, Minister of State for Equality Mary White has said.
Ms White said she would do her utmost to protect the commission, which faced stringent cuts of 32 per cent in 2008 that had a "significant impact" on the body's work.
"If we cut the commission's budget anymore we won't be just cutting down to the bone, we'll have cut down to the fossilised remains. I want to ensure we have a living body," said Ms White at the publication of a new commission guide for public servants.
Ms White said a review of the three public bodies - the Equality Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the Human Rights Commission- under her umbrella would be concluded and proposals put to Government before Christmas.
The review will look at best practice in other countries for similar equality bodies to see if there are ideas that can be replicated in Ireland. It will also look at efficiency and efficacy, she said.
"I personally wouldn't favour an amalgamation of the three bodies. Each body has its own unique function," said Ms White, who added she hoped her voice would be heard in budget talks.
Cuts of 32 per cent to the commission's budget and a corresponding 43 per cent cut in the Equality Authority's budget in 2008 provoked claims from human rights activists that their independence had been breached.
A review carried out last year by the Equality and Rights Alliance, which is a coalition of equality and human rights bodies, warned the cuts had a significant impact on the commission's work.
At today's unveiling of a Human Rights Guide for the Civil and Public Service, Eamonn Mac Aodha, chief executive of the commission, said he was hopeful that the budget would not be cut.
"We would hope that having taken a 32 per cent budget cut two years ago that we will not face further reductions now," he said.
The commission had to source external funding from Atlantic Philanthropies, the philanthropic organisation founded by US billionaire Chuck Feeney, to publish the guide for civil and public servants, said Dr Maurice Manning, president of the commission.
In his speech at the launch of the book he joked to the audience this was the first Human Rights Commission event for two years that the commission had been able to afford to provide food.
The guide is a reference tool for civil and public servants on what human rights are and how they can be applied in practice. The commission will also provide training free of charge to staff working in public bodies.