Irish human rights commission lays first report before Oireachtas

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has laid its first-ever annual report before the Oireachtas.

The report records 2,173 public queries, 45 ongoing legal assistance cases and five amicus curiae cases in Superior Courts, and 14 UN and international committee engagements.

In the introduction to the report, Chief Commissioner Emily Logan writes: “As this Annual Report illustrates, a great deal of groundwork was laid in 2015, this first year of the Commission’s existence.

“This groundwork will be crucial to the effective fulfilment of our mandate as Ireland’s independent national human rights institution and equality body as we move into the lifetime of our first Strategy Statement, and embark on our work to promote an inclusive Ireland where human rights and equality are respected, protected and fulfilled for everyone, everywhere.”

Speaking at the launch of the report, Ms Logan also stressed the importance of collaboration with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) under the Good Friday Agreement.

Ms Logan said: “In any proposed arrangements post-Brexit, it is important to ensure coherence of protections of human rights and equality North and South of the border.

“The Commission believes that the outcome of the referendum in Britain should not have negative consequences for the uniformity of human rights standards across the island of Ireland. Any future legislative proposals should not undermine the commitments contained in the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.”