 One of the main aims of the INTO Equality Committee is to raise awareness of Equality Legislation among INTO membership.  Employment Legislation – Employment Equality Acts of 1998 and 2004  Equality Legislation promotes equality and prohibits discrimination (with some exceptions) across nine grounds.

 Gender  Marital (Civil) Status  Family Status  Sexual orientation  Religion  Age  Disability  Race  Member of the Traveller Community

Some of the aspects of employment covered under this legislation include ◦ Advertising ◦ Equal pay ◦ Access to employment ◦ Vocational training and work experience ◦ Terms and conditions of employment ◦ Promotion or re-grading ◦ Classification of posts ◦ Dismissal ◦ Collective agreements

The Acts apply to public and private sector employees – teachers working in our schools.

 To examine issues of diversity and inclusion in the Teaching Profession.

 Disability  Sexual orientation  Civil/Marital Status

 Ireland – rapid social change in areas of the law and in expectations relating to disability, sexual orientation and families.  Changes have implications for teachers in various ways

 Covered in relation to employment and equal status in the Equality legislation of 1998 and 2000  Significant development of case law on disability ground at the Equality Tribunal  ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ of disability – opened up debate about a fuller place for people with disability in society and at work.

 Civil Service – provides a lead - 3% employment quota for persons with disabilities.  Northern Ireland – Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – protection for people suffering from certain illnesses – can bring claims for discrimination, victimisation and a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

 Congress 2008 Motion  Equality Committee – INTO Survey 2009  3.3% (12) in Republic  15% (6) in Northern Ireland  In majority of cases disability not known to employer  Nature of disabilities varied widely – depression/anxiety to hearing impairment, arthritic conditions, injuries, illnesses.

 Most commonly reported impact on teaching career was need to take time off work, a reluctance to seek promotion, limited choice of teaching duties, restrictions on social interactions  All but 2 of these teachers had acquired their disabilities during their teaching career  Results indicate majority of teachers with disability wish to remain in work

 Circular 0099/2008 – Occupational Health Service for teachers in Republic – recognised ‘reasonable accommodation’ provisions applies to teachers  ICTU ‘Disability Champions’  How will teachers with disabilities be accommodated in employment terms in the coming years in our schools?  The input of teachers in this debate is very important!

 Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 – significant change in official attitudes to gay people.  Employment Equality Act 1988 and Equal Status Act 2000 made discrimination unlawful  Northern Ireland – decriminalised homosexuality 1982  December 2005 – Belfast City Hall first same-sex civil partnership ceremony in UK.

 Republic – Civil Partnership Bill published in June 2009 and introduced for debate in December.  Will establish a statutory mechanism for the registration of same-sex partnerships  Represents a remarkable societal change less than 18 years since sex between consenting adult gay people was a criminal offence in Irish law.

 INTO LGB Teachers’ Group set up in 2004 – 14 members, now has 45.  LGB raises challenging and significant issues for the teaching profession ◦ the visibility and invisibility of lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in schools ◦ the recognition of sexual orientation issues in school curricula ◦ conditions of employment and related matters.

 Anseo Conference – “ a piece of Irish social history” (Irish Times) – in October 2009  Good Practice Guidelines for creating an inclusive staffroom for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff launched and distributed to all primary schools.

 Section 37.1(b) of the 1998 Employment Equality Act – possible implications for teachers in denominational schools!

Family  ‘ natural, primary and fundamental unit group of society ’  Only recognises the family based on a marriage between a man and a woman  Prohibition on dissolution of marriage in 1937 Constitution. Amendment ( Nov.95) allowing divorce followed by legislation

 Submissions that definition of family be amended to include units other than those based on marriage (based on relationship rather than structure)  Preferred option – retain present protection AND extend to all a right to respect for their family life – whether based on marriage or not

 One-parent families  Same-sex couples and children  Co-habiting couples and children  Blended families

Family Units  12% - non-marital couples-1/3 with children- sharp increase over last 20 years  18% - one-parent families (190,000)  33.1% of births outside marriage-24,844 (more than half to co-habiting parents)

 One – person households on the increase ( up18.7% since 2002)  Continued fall in average household size – 2.8 (Dublin 2.5)  Co-habiting couples fastest growing family type (up 48,200 since 2002 to 121,800)  Fewer adult children living with parents

 3,630 divorces granted in 2008  5,000 – including judicial separations & nullity applications  Slowing down & levelling off of rate since introduction of divorce - joint lowest with Italy -linked to fall in marriage rate and later marriages since 1970s

 High Court - lesbian couple – a ‘ de facto ’ family- entitled to protection of family rights  Supreme Court – ‘ There is no institution in Ireland of a ‘ de facto ’ family ’ - Article 41 ‘… the family in Irish law is based on a marriage between a man and a woman ’

 ‘..an extensive package of rights, obligations and protections for same-sex couples who register as civil partners ’ and ‘ a redress scheme for co- habitants ’  Change ‘ marital status ’ to ‘ civil status ’ in Equality legislation

 Set up 21 years ago  Support for members  Still difficult for separated teachers to be open in staffrooms – particularly in rural areas