Ihrec

Ireland's human rights watchdog has been granted permission to act as amicus curiae in a case concerning the National Driving Licence Service’s (NDLS) refusal to permit asylum seekers to exchange their foreign driving licences for Irish ones. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has

Women and families affected by mother and baby homes should play a key role in drafting a new law to provide dignified burials for victims left in mass graves, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said. The rights watchdog has provided an Oireachtas committee with 25 specific recommend

New legislation will have to be passed by the Oireachtas before any naturalised Irish citizens can be stripped of their citizenship following a Supreme Court ruling. Having ruled last year that sections 19(2) and (3) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 are repugnant to the constitution

Proposed legislation allowing for physician-assisted dying in Ireland requires "further safeguards", the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said. The rights watchdog today published its analysis and recommendations to the Oireachtas justice committee on the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020,

The Supreme Court has issued a "very significant" ruling in a case focusing on the medical treatment of an 11-year-old boy who suffered life-changing neurological injuries, Ireland's human rights watchdog has said. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission exercised its amicus curiae function i

Disabled people are being "left behind" and excluded from decision-making when it comes to Covid-19 planning by the State, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has warned. The watchdog pointed to the issue of school closures and disabled students’ specific educational needs as the la

A former captain in the Air Corps who suffered discrimination on the basis of her gender has been awarded €117,800 in compensation, the maximum possible. Yvonne O'Rourke was represented legally in the Workplace Relations Commission by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, who welcomed

Courts considering medical treatment for a child must balance and protect their constitutional rights as a child, with due regard to the rights of their parents, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has reaffirmed. The human rights watchdog has published its legal submissions to the Suprem

The overwhelmingly majority of people in Ireland believe that human rights are important for creating a fairer society, according to new research published by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The rights watchdog has published the findings of a new national Amárach poll to mark

A man who was discriminated against by a letting agency for being a recipient of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) has won compensation through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The 32-year-old had already viewed the property, agreed a tenancy, signed the agreement and paid a deposit when

A man with an intellectual disability has gone to the High Court to challenge laws preventing him from marrying. The man, known only as V, was prevented from marrying his fiancée last year following an application to the High Court to have him made a ward of court.

Discrimination on the ground of criminal conviction should be banned in equality legislation, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said. The watchdog made the recommendations as part of its response to the government's review of the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Discl

A ban on over-35s applying to become gardaí is discriminatory and unlawful, the Workplace Relations Commission has ruled. Two men who were refused entry to An Garda Síochána on the basis of their age challenged the relevant regulations with support from the Irish Human Rights an

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has been designated as Ireland’s independent national rapporteur on human trafficking, for the purposes of EU anti-human trafficking legislation. The role will include carrying out of assessments of trends in trafficking in human beings, t

Human rights and equality watchdogs north and south of the border have called on the UK government to ensure the controversial Internal Market Bill does not breach the Good Friday Agreement. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) and