Experts of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Praise Ireland for Increasing Official Development Assistance, Ask about the Scarcity of Housing and Due Diligence Requirements for Businesses

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today concluded its review of the fourth periodic report of Ireland, with Committee Experts commending the State’s increased official development assistance, and asking about the scarcity of housing and due diligence requirements for businesses.

One Committee Expert congratulated Ireland on increasing its official development assistance to 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product, and asked about programmes that would be implemented with the additional development assistance.

Another Expert said the scarcity of housing was a pressing issue in Ireland.  State policies addressed housing as a business rather than a right.  What measures were in place to promote equality in access to social housing?  How was the State party ensuring that housing for vulnerable groups was of high quality?

Seree Nonthasoot, Committee Expert and country rapporteur, asked if Ireland would introduce mandatory due diligence for businesses.  The Committee had received reports that the State energy agency had violated the rights of Colombian residents affected by its activities.  How would the State party ensure due diligence for its companies’ activities? 

Introducing the report, Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Social Protection, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and head of the delegation, said significant progress had been made in implementing the Covenant in Ireland since 2015, including through the introduction of marriage equality and the promotion of access to women’s reproductive health services, although there was more to do in several areas.

The delegation said Ireland took a human rights-based approach to development.  Aid was targeted to least developed countries and population groups that were the most vulnerable, and aimed to address the effects of climate change.  Ireland had committed to contributing 225 million euros per year from 2025 to international climate financing.

Mr. O’Brien said that, in the context of the housing crisis, the Government published its housing for all strategy in 2021.  It aimed to increase the supply of housing through an extensive range of measures, including by building 300,000 homes by 2030.  The number of new homes delivered in 2023 was the highest in 15 years, with 32,695 new homes completed.  This was a 10 per cent increase on 2022 delivery.  The delegation added that affordable rent was also a key priority for Ireland.  The supply of social and affordable housing had recently increased.

The delegation said the Government recognised the importance of listening to calls for a framework on mandatory due diligence.  The State party looked forward to an agreement on the relevant proposed European Union directive in this regard.  A complaint had been brought against the State energy company regarding alleged breach of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.  This was at the good offices stage with Ireland’s national contact point, which was treated confidentially.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Nonthasoot said the dialogue had revealed how Ireland had changed in the nine years since the State party appeared before the Committee previously.  The Committee would produce concluding observations based on the dialogue and recommend achievable actions to address the pressing issues raised.  The Committee looked forward to seeing real progress in terms of human rights and greater prosperity in Ireland.

Mr. O’Brien, in his closing remarks, said Ireland attached particular importance to its engagement with the treaty body review process.  The dialogue had showed the progress Ireland had made in implementing economic, social and cultural rights and the areas in which more work was needed.  The State party looked forward to receiving the Committee’s recommendations.  It was committed to implementing the Covenant.

The delegation of Ireland was comprised of representatives from the Department of Rural and Community Development; Department of Social Protection; Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Department of Foreign Affairs;; Department of Education; Department of Justice; Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Action; Department of Health; Department of Transport; Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Department of Finance; Department of Housing; the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science; and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Webcasts of the meetings of the session can be found here, and meetings summaries can be found here.  

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Monday, 19 February to begin its consideration of the fifth periodic report of Iraq (E/C.12/IRQ/5).

Report

The Committee has before it the fourth periodic report of Ireland (E/C.12/IRL/4).

Presentation of Report

JOE O’BRIEN, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Social Protection, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and head of the delegation, said significant progress had been made in implementing the Covenant in Ireland since 2015, including through the introduction of marriage equality and the promotion of access to women’s reproductive health services, although there was more to do in several areas.

In the context of the housing crisis, the Government published its housing for all strategy in 2021.  The plan was backed by an unprecedented financial commitment.  It aimed to increase the supply of housing through an extensive range of measures, including by building 300,000 homes by 2030.  The number of new homes delivered in 2023 was the highest in 15 years, with 32,695 new homes completed.  This was a 10 per cent increase on 2022 delivery. 

In response to a previous recommendation from the Committee, Ireland had allowed persons seeking international protection to apply for permission to work if they had not received a decision on their application within five months.  The State party was working to regularise the immigration status of nearly 6,000 people who had been living in Ireland for a long period of time.

In March 2017, the State recognised Travellers as an ethnic minority.  This was an issue previously flagged by the Committee.  This was followed by the publication of the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy, which aimed to improve the lives of Travellers and Roma and ensure their full inclusion in Irish life.  A successor to this strategy would run from 2024 to 2027.  Other initiatives included the national Traveller health action plan and recent work commenced by the Heritage Council to draw up the first Traveller heritage strategy.

Ireland had become the first country in the world to agree by referendum that marriage equality should be enshrined in Ireland’s Constitution, giving same-sex couples an equal right to marry.  In 2018, Ireland became the first country to have a strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex youth.  This strategy was complimented by the publication of Ireland’s first national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex plus youth inclusion strategy.

In 2017, Ireland launched the national strategy for women and girls as a whole-of-government approach to promoting equality for women and girls.  Progress had been made towards greater gender equality in childcare and corporate leadership, and on combatting domestic and gender-based violence.  Last year, Ireland became one of the first countries to introduce domestic violence leave, reflected in the ambitious third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.  The State party had expanded the free contraception scheme to cover all women aged 17 to 31.  It had also extended free general practitioner healthcare to half a million people and abolished in-patient hospital charges. 

The Government had published the roadmap for social inclusion, which aimed to reduce consistent poverty to two per cent or less.  At the end of 2023, 45 roadmap commitments were either fully achieved or achieved with ongoing delivery.  The consistent poverty rate had fallen from 8.5 per cent in 2015 to 5.3 per cent in 2022.  A Child Poverty and Well-Being Programme Office had been established in the Department of the Prime Minister.

A Commission of Investigation had produced a report on the issue of mother and baby homes that laid bare the systemic failures of the State.  The Government made 22 wide-ranging commitments to survivors, aimed at making amends by addressing their priority needs and concerns.  Significant progress had been made in implementing these measures.  The historic Birth Information and Tracing Act and the mother and baby institutions payment scheme had been established.

The State party had increased the budget allocated for arts and culture to 367 million euros for 2024, more than double the 2015 allocation.  It had also launched a pioneering basic income for the arts pilot scheme to support artists and creative arts workers.  Both Tinsmithing and the Cant/Gammon language had been inscribed on Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Questions by a Committee Expert

SEREE NONTHASOOT, Committee Expert and country rapporteur, commended Ireland for ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2018, ratifying the International Labour Organization convention 190 on violence and harassment in 2023, passing the Irish Sign Language Act in 2017, which recognised Irish Sign Language as an official language of Ireland, and for passing the Gender Pay Gap Information Act in 2021.  The State party signed the Optional Protocol to the Covenant in 2012 but had not acceded to it.  What was the planned timeline for accession?  The Committee was alarmed by areas in legislation where the Covenant was not integrated, including anti-discrimination legislation.  There was a lack of training for judges and prosecutors on human rights and the Covenant.  What progress had been made in this regard?

The Committee considered the effective functioning of the national human rights institute as imperative.  It welcomed the increase in funding for the institute, but was concerned about barriers to its activities, including in monitoring places of detention.  What measures were in place to address this?  What laws or policies were in place to enhance engagement with civil society organizations and the Government?

The State party supported the European Union corporate sustainability directive.  When would the State party adopt its next national action plan on business and human rights and implement the directive in domestic legislation?  Would the State party introduce mandatory due diligence for businesses?  The State party maintained several entities in services such as transport and energy.  The Committee had received reports that the State energy agency had violated the rights of Colombian residents affected by its activities.  How would the State party ensure due diligence for its companies’ activities? 

How was Ireland addressing inadequate social infrastructure?  Did the national development plan include the provision of social infrastructure?  Tax avoidance was a violation of human rights.  States that did not address these issues were contributing to human rights violations.  Ireland needed to undertake an audit of its tax system to ensure it was not being used as a conduit for tax avoidance.

The State party needed to address discrimination urgently.  There was a lack of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, and a lack of equality budgeting.  What measures were in place to address these inadequacies?  Many cases of discrimination in employment and housing occurred at the local level.  What measures had the State party taken to strengthen protections from discrimination at the local level?  When would the hate crime bill be passed?  How accessible was free legal aid in the State party?

It was expensive and debilitating to have a disability in Ireland, where the cost of living was exorbitant.  Persons with disabilities were segregated in the education system and employment sectors.  Was the strategy and policy aiming to address inequality in marginalised groups being adequately implemented?  There were also inequalities between men and women in economic, social and cultural rights.  When would a strategy on women’s economic rights be developed?  Some Travellers were hesitant to identify themselves in the census due to fear of discrimination.  How would the State party address persistent discrimination of Travellers?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Ireland had chosen not to incorporate the Covenant directly into domestic law, but to give effect to it through domestic laws.  The Constitution enshrined many of the rights set out in the Covenant.  The Covenant had been cited in various court cases, such as a Supreme Court case on the right of asylum seekers to work in Ireland.  Covenant rights were also protected under common law.  Courts were required to interpret domestic legislation in a manner consistent with the State’s international obligations.  Economic, social and cultural rights were addressed in training programmes for judges and prosecutors. 

The Prison Inspectorate would continue to be the main monitoring body for places of detention, but the national human rights institute would have the mandate as overarching national preventive mechanism. 

Progress toward ratification of the Optional Protocol had been slow.  Ireland would commit to undertaking a detailed analysis of the Optional Protocol within the next reporting cycle.

Over 90 per cent of measures within the national action plan on business and human rights had been implemented.  The Government had sought inputs from civil society on developing the second iteration of the plan, which would be delivered this year.  The Government recognised the importance of listening to calls for a framework on mandatory due diligence.  Its preference was for such legislation to be implemented at the level of the European Union.  The State party looked forward to an agreement on the relevant proposed European Union directive in this regard.  A complaint had been brought against the State energy company regarding an alleged breach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. This is at the good offices stage with the Ireland’s national contact point, which is treated confidentially.

The State party had invested significantly in rural regeneration and development.  A flagship strategy on rural development had been set up.  Remote working hubs were being developed in rural areas.  The 2022 digital connectivity strategy committed to every premises in Ireland having gigabyte network by 2028.  The National Broadband Plan would provide broadband internet to 600,000 premises.  The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan had increased public transport links for over 100 rural villages and towns.  The Government had invested 200 million euros per year in strengthening rural health care.  There had been an 80 per cent increase in the number of students entering general practitioner training since 2015, and there were incentives for trainees to undertake work in rural areas.

A review of the corporate tax system had been carried out in 2017, which led to several changes to the system.  A bill introduced this year required companies to pay 15 per cent tax on revenue earned in all countries in which they operated.

The Equality Acts had been reviewed in 2023 through broad consultation with civil society.  Based on this, the State party was working to reform the Act.  Reviews of equality strategies were informed by independent assessments of previous strategies.  Gender budgeting was a core pillar of the State party’s performance framework.  Each department published data on gender budgeting.

Questions by Committee Experts

One Committee Expert congratulated Ireland on increasing its official development assistance to 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product.  What programmes would be implemented with the additional development assistance? 

Committee Experts asked follow-up questions on problems regarding access to financing licences for civil society organizations and plans to revise the charities bill; efforts to incorporate discrimination based on socio-economic status in planned anti-discrimination legislation; and measures to prevent abusive corporate tax practices and to bring the State’s tax framework in line with its international human rights obligations.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Ireland took a human rights-based approach to development.  Aid was targeted to least developed countries and population groups that were the most vulnerable, and aimed to address the effects of climate change.  Ireland had committed to contributing 225 million euros per year from 2025 to international climate financing.

An analysis into international taxation was carried out in 2014, after which taxation measures were renegotiated more favourably for developing countries.  Cross-border transactions were governed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s transfer pricing rules.

The amended charities bill was progressing through Parliament.  Amendments to the bill had been made after consultations with civil society.  The bill added organizations that worked to protect human rights within the “charity” category.  The Government was considering including discrimination based on socio-economic status within the Equality Acts.

Questions by a Committee Expert

A Committee Expert welcomed efforts by the State party to end unemployment.  Could the delegation provide more information on efforts to reduce unemployment and increase the minimum wage?  The gender pay gap remained quite large in the State party.  How was the State addressing this?  What actions would be implemented to enable women in north-west Ireland to join the workforce?  Would the Government subsidise childcare costs?  What actions had been taken to achieve the goals of the national strategy for women and girls?  What progress had been made in implementing the employment strategy for persons with disabilities and the national strategy on supporting Roma and Travellers? 

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said that in 2022, the Government had agreed to implement a living wage that was 60 per cent of the median wage.  The minimum wage had been increased in 2023 as part of efforts to implement the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations.  Deliberation on proposed legislation for implementing the European Union directive on collective bargaining was proceeding. 

The national strategy for women and girls 2017-2021 had introduced gender policies in national cultural institutions, promoted girls’ participation in science education, and introduced national gender budgeting strategies.  The gender pay gap had been reduced from 14 per cent in 2017 to nine per cent in 2022.  Many employers were required to report on the gender pay gaps of their workforces.  Various Government measures were in place to reduce the gap.

Measures had been introduced to improve access to and affordability of early learning.  Over 200,000 children received funding to access early learning and childcare services.  The Government recognised early learning and childcare as a public good.

The Government provided translation and interpretation to increase access to social services.  A comprehensive strategy promoting the participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce was also in place.  The Government was committed to increasing the rate of persons with disabilities employed in the public sector. 

Questions by Committee Experts

Committee Experts asked follow-up questions on efforts to implement the Supreme Court’s decision on payment to pizza delivery workers; efforts to protect workers from human trafficking and prevent violations of work rights through labour inspections; the extent of the gender pension gap and efforts to address it; efforts to formalise informal work; progress in developing poverty reduction strategies; and the share of childcare services provided by public and private sectors.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Supreme Court case on pizza delivery workers addressed taxation issues rather than employment rights.  The Government was committed to implementing the decision. 

The State party had commissioned research on trafficking in persons that found that there were 38 per cent more victims of trafficking than the State had identified.  In response to this, a multi-sectoral authority for the recognition of victims was being set up.  It would include members of the Labour Inspectorate and non-governmental organizations that worked with victims of trafficking.  Legislation to establish this authority would be enacted this year.

There was no gap in the value of State pensions between men and women.  However, men were twice as likely to have an occupational pension than women.  The State party planned to automatically enrol workers in occupational pensions from next year.

Ireland had expanded family leave, establishing two weeks of paid paternity leave for fathers.  In 2024, parent’s leave would be extended to nine weeks.  Breastfeeding breaks were offered to working mothers.

The Government had an overarching poverty strategy.  It promoted meaningful employment and welfare support.  A unit had been established that was working to reduce child poverty.

Questions by a Committee Expert

A Committee Expert asked about measures to set up a public creche system that low-income families could access.  The Government had established a legal body focusing on addressing gender-based violence.  What resources were allocated to this body?  How many cases had the body dealt with and how many convictions had been reached?  What progress had been made in addressing gender stereotypes?

The persistent poverty index increased in 2022 and there were higher incidences of poverty amongst vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.  What measures were in place to sustainably reduce the poverty rates for vulnerable groups, including the Roma and Traveller community?

The scarcity of housing was a pressing issue in Ireland.  State policies addressed housing as a business rather than a right.  What measures were in place to promote equality in access to social housing?  How was the State party ensuring that housing for vulnerable groups was of high quality?

There was no official indicator on food poverty in Ireland, but there was a rising dependence on food banks.  The prevalence of food insecurity amongst children and single parent families was concerning.  How would the State party strengthen measures to promote food security?

Ireland had major problems regarding the coverage of the primary health care system.  There was significant inequality in access to the public and private health systems between regions.  What measures were in place to address regional disparities in access to health?  A draft bill on safe zones for accessing abortions had been developed in 2022.  What was the status of this bill?  What measures were in place to promote access to reproductive health services for women from disadvantaged and marginalised groups?  The budget allocated to mental health services had reportedly fallen.  Would the State party allocate sufficient resources to mental health?  What measures had the State party taken to adopt a human rights-based approach to drug policies?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Ireland was committed to protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.  The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inclusion strategy had been extended until a successor strategy was developed.  The successor strategy would draw lessons from the current strategy.  There was an accompanying strategy to collect data on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.

A plan to develop a national equality data strategy was developed in 2018.  This data would help to highlight hidden inequalities and inform policy actions and strategies to promote and protect equality.  A multi-sectoral working group to develop the strategy had been set up, and the Government expected to publish the strategy later this year.  Another project was in place to collect data on children’s experiences in care systems.

The Workplace Relations Commission investigated cases of discrimination at work.  The Commission’s inspectorate had completed over 4,000 inspections last year and had carried out campaigns on workplace harassment in various labour sectors; 1.59 million euros in unpaid wages were recovered by the inspectorate in 2023.

An expert group was established in 2019 to develop a new funding model for the early learning system.  The new model aimed to address accessibility.  Measures were implemented in 2023 to invest one billion euros in the early learning system; 1.1 billion would be invested in 2024 to ensure that children with disabilities could access preschool education free of charge and reduce out-of-pocket costs for families by 50 per cent.  Low-income families received the highest level of support.  Thus far, costs for families had fallen by 25 per cent.

The Victims’ Forum was a mechanism for high-level dialogue with non-governmental organizations working with victims, and worked alongside other consultative and partnership structures focussing on gender-based violence and human trafficking.  A national helpline for general victims of crime and other specialist victims’ services were funded by the State.  The State agency working on gender-based violence had a budget of 59 million euros for 2024, not including capital funding allocated to building refuges for women victims of violence.  The State party was working to raise awareness of consent and support mechanisms for victims, and address gender stereotypes.

The consistent poverty rate did rise in 2022, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  A research programme was looking into persistent poverty for vulnerable groups.  The roadmap for social inclusion aimed to reduce poverty through various measures, including public employment programmes and disability payments.  The child poverty and wellbeing office prioritised actions for vulnerable groups.  A forum had been established to discuss means of promoting employment for the Roma and Traveller community, and other measures were in place to support employment within this community.

The Government had established the energy poverty action plan, which included lump sum payments for electricity costs.  Measures were taken to address barriers to vulnerable groups accessing this scheme.  Over 47,000 houses have been retrofit under the National Retrofit Plan. Of these, 5,897 homes were upgraded under the Warmer Homes Schemes for those at risk of energy poverty.

The most effective way to address the housing crisis was by increasing housing supply.  The housing for all 2030 project aimed to do this.  Over 300,000 homes would be built by 2030, including 90,000 social homes.  Affordable rent was also a key priority.  The supply of social and affordable housing had recently increased.  In 2022, over 1,750 affordable homes were delivered.  The Government had invested 30 million euros in housing for the Traveller community in 2023.  The number of Traveller households residing in social housing had increased by over 20 per cent over four years to 2022.  Measures were also in place to increase housing supply for persons with disabilities.

The State party had set up a working group on food poverty.  The annual survey on income and living conditions included questions on food poverty.  The Department of Health’s healthy communities programme put nutrition workers in regional communities to encourage households to eat healthily.  The core school meals programme reached 440,000 school children.  The State party aimed to provide access to hot school meals to all school children.  The Government had also started a pilot project to gather data on reasons for using food banks to inform food policies.

Ireland had made progress in promoting physical and mental health.  Life expectancy in Ireland continued to increase and was above the European Union average.  Around 85 per cent of the population reported their health as being “good” or “very good”.  The State party had adopted a universal health care policy.  All residents were entitled to access public health services at no charge or at reduced charges.  Low-income households had completely free access to the health system.  Forty-two per cent of the population had free access to health care, and the Government aimed to increase this to 50 per cent.  The Government was also working to broaden the range of public health services available. 

The Government was working to expand the availability of termination services.  Free contraception services were available for women aged 17 to 30.  The women’s health service provided support to women working in the sex trade.  A website on sexual health had been set up.

A programme was in place to improve access to health care in rural areas.  Six strategic health regions had been created to increase the efficiency of services and provide for more targeted delivery of resources.  A phased removal of private services from public hospitals was underway.

The budget for mental health in 2024 had been increased by 84 million euros from 2023, including 10 million that was devoted to youth mental health.  The Government had adopted a health-centred approach to drug policies.  It had established a citizens’ assembly on drug use in 2023.  The assembly had published a report which included recommendations for measures to dissuade and decriminalise drug use, and a committee to implement these recommendations had been set up.  Ireland had recently established a medically supervised injection facility to prevent drug users from overdosing.  Shelters were provided to homeless persons with drug addictions.

Questions by Committee Experts

Committee Experts asked follow-up questions on whether universal health coverage was included in legislation; measures to decriminalise drug use; compensation provided to survivors of the “Magdalene Laundries” institutions; measures to support Roma children to access child benefits, medical cards and other supports; measures to ensure that persons with intellectual disabilities had access to housing; plans to reduce waiting times for surgeries for intersex persons; measures to prevent gender change surgery from being carried out without the permission of the person involved; and plans to adopt a strategy on mental health for the Roma community.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said universal health care coverage was underpinned by legislation.  The policy was evolving.  Refugees were automatically given free access to the health care system.  The State had developed a migrant health delivery model to address capacity issues.  The Government was developing a “health diversion” programme.  Persons found with drugs were referred to the health care system rather than the criminal system.  The Traveller health plan was announced in 2023.  It was a joint plan being implemented with civil society.  The plan included six actions to promote Traveller mental health.  Health services were committed to developing a national mental health implementation plan for Travellers. 

The Health Service was developing a new model of care for transgender health services to prevent young people from going abroad to receive treatment.  Non-consensual operations were very rare.  Surgeries were performed in line with international best practice.  Consent was sought from children over 16 years of age.

The State had issued two formal apologies to the women who were residents of Magdalene Laundries.  A scheme was established to pay compensation to survivors.  Applicants did not have to prove that they had suffered abuse or damage to qualify for special pensions and medical cards.

A model promoting inclusive living in communities for persons with disabilities had been set up.  The number of persons with disabilities living in congregated settings had dropped to around 1,500 persons in recent years.  The Government was providing funding to support persons with disabilities to live independently.  Surveys were being carried out to identify people who were inappropriately living in care settings. 

All residents had to satisfy the “habitual residence condition” to receive social benefits such as the child benefit.  The condition applied to all persons, regardless of ethnicity.  Medical cards were issued to all persons, subject to a means assessment.  All Roma persons in Ireland had the right to obtain those cards. 

Questions by a Committee Expert

One Committee Expert said Ireland performed well in education on technology and science.  Why had the State party not provided the disaggregated data on education requested by the Committee?  Ireland had started to conduct a review of the Education Act for children with special needs in 2021.  What findings had been made?  The Expert acknowledged important measures implemented by the State party to promote access to education for the Traveller community.  However, this community’s education outcomes were still low.  What measures were in place to ensure the right to education for the Roma and Traveller community?  The number of segregated special classes had increased to around 3,000 in recent years, and the budget for segregated education had increased.  Would the State party develop a policy that prioritised inclusive education over segregation?  There were barriers to access to education for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.  Some schools continued to allocate 25 per cent of places to children of former students.  What measures had the State party taken to ensure equal access to education for all children?  No alternatives to religious education were provided in many schools.  Would the State party call on all schools to provide alternatives?  It was positive that the State party had recognised Travellers as an ethnic minority.  However, Traveller language was not taught or used in schools.  What measures would be taken to address these problems?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Ireland had published various statistics on education, including data on the enrolment of Traveller pupils.  The Department of Education had been collecting data on ethnicity since 2015, however, individual schools took different approaches to collecting data.  The Government would work on standardising processes.  The State party aimed to finish the review of the Education Act for children with special education needs this year, and develop recommendations for reforming this legislation.  The National Council for Special Education aimed to develop a roadmap on inclusive education in consultation with civil society.  The State was opening special classes within mainstream schools and promoting integration between special and mainstream classes.

There were positive trends in participation in education for the Roma and Traveller community.  In 2023, the Traveller community’s junior cycle completion rate had increased by 10 per cent since 2016.  The State party was working to develop by this summer a strategy on supporting Traveller and Roma students’ education.  There was work ongoing to implement Traveller culture and history tuition at all levels of education.  Intercultural guidelines for schools were being updated to promote Ireland’s diverse cultures. 

One thousand and two hundred schools were supported to provide targeted education support to disadvantaged children.  Free primary school books were provided to all students, and junior cycle books would also be provided free of charge from this year.  School transport fees were waived for refugee children.  Mental health support programmes were also in place in primary schools.  The State party had increased retention rates in schools and reduced disparities in education attainment between schools.  Regional education and language teams had been set up to ensure that refugee children had access to the support they needed in all schools.

The Education Admission Act obliged all schools to not discriminate based on religion or ethnicity in assessing enrolment applications.  All schools published individual admissions policies agreed with parents.  Schools were allowed to reserve up to 25 per cent of places for the children of former students.

The Traveller and Roma community could benefit from funding supporting their students’ access to higher education as a priority group.  A new national access plan and dedicated funding path had been set up to increase their participation in higher education.  New access routes to higher education for disadvantaged groups, including persons with disabilities, had also been established.  Funds had been set up to support persons with disabilities to participate in the further education and training sector.  An adult literacy programme was also in place to promote literacy among disadvantaged groups.

The Government was committed to increasing the number of multi-denominational schools.  The Department of Education communicated with schools to resolve issues related to the provision of alternatives to religious education.

Questions by Committee Experts

Several Experts welcomed that Ireland was implementing universal health coverage.  Committee Experts asked follow-up questions on strategies to improve international mechanisms for the monitoring of human rights; the effectiveness of measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; costs for persons whose health costs were not fully covered by the State; measures to ensure asylum seekers’ access to health care and housing; and plans to teach and use Traveller language in preschool and primary education.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the health response to COVID-19 had minimised deaths among vulnerable communities.  An inquiry into COVID-19 response measures was planned for the near future.  The Government was reviewing the effects of COVID-19 on education, but believed that response measures had been successful.  Over half the labour force received support payments during the pandemic, which helped to reduce the risk of poverty for disadvantaged groups and maintain employment.

The Government had put in place measures to make health care more affordable.  All public hospital costs had been abolished, general health care was subsidised and medicine costs were covered by the State.  Targeted support was provided to migrants and asylum seekers to access health care.

The State was currently unable to offer accommodation to all applicants for international protection; 915 persons were currently awaiting State-supported accommodation.  Such persons were provided with a daily expense allowance and access to meals, clothing and showers.  The number of asylum seekers that Ireland was accommodating had risen from 8,000 to 100,000 due to the war in Ukraine.  The State was working to identify more accommodation for asylum seekers.

Ireland had committed to human rights mainstreaming in its foreign policy, to championing civil society engagement, to protecting and promoting the work of human rights defenders, and to producing its second action plan on business and human rights.

The State had added the Cant/Gammon language spoken by Travellers to Ireland’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.  It would consider measures to promote and celebrate this language across the school system.

Concluding Remarks

SEREE NONTHASOOT, Committee Expert and country rapporteur, said the dialogue had revealed how Ireland had changed in the nine years since the State party appeared before the Committee previously.  The Committee would produce concluding observations based on the dialogue and recommend achievable actions to address the pressing issues raised.  The Committee looked forward to seeing real progress in terms of human rights and greater prosperity in Ireland.

JOE O’BRIEN, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Social Protection, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and head of the delegation, said Ireland attached particular importance to its engagement with the treaty body review process.  The treaty body system was of increasing importance in the current global context.  The dialogue had showed the progress Ireland had made in implementing economic, social and cultural rights and the areas in which more work was needed.  The State party would work to gather further information on the points raised in the dialogue in collaboration with civil society.  The State party looked forward to receiving the Committee’s recommendations.  It was committed to implementing the provisions of the Covenant.