Does it need its own quango though?
I think you are making a giant leap of faith here in assuming that just because government creates a department, assigns money to it and then calls it the equality departnment, that it does anything to improve equality. And as with any government failures, they are put down to lack of funding to justify increased budgets, in order to make excuses.Let me guess - you're white, male, Irish-born, between 25 and 60, with no permanent disability - right? Many of those who don't tick off all these boxes have benefited from the work of the Equality Authority.
That might be an idea.
Perhaps it really is time for the Gov (and us) to sit back and ask "what public services are really critical and crucial".
Likes of heritage, sport etc - how essential are they until we get the country back in shape?
It certainly needs to be independent of Government.
No leap of faith at all. I've seen first-hand the successes of the Equality Authority before they were nobbled. If you want to find out more, go read their annual reports. See how they stopped Ulster Bank from discriminating against older people, see how the stopped Searsons Pub from discriminating against wheelchair users, see how they stopped Kerry VEC from discriminating against travellers, and lots more.I think you are making a giant leap of faith here in assuming that just because government creates a department, assigns money to it and then calls it the equality departnment, that it does anything to improve equality. And as with any government failures, they are put down to lack of funding to justify increased budgets, in order to make excuses.
Strange - I think I heard someone from the hotel industry saying the EXACT opposite recently - that they wanted more promotion from Failte Ireland. Individual hotels don't have the critial mass to fund a large advertising campaign abroad.That would be a start. But I am more of the opinion that we do not need some of the government departments full stop, and that the country would be better off with less taxation to not fund these departments.
Take tourism as an example. I would be very surprised if any business operating in the tourism industry would not want to see a rebate from the tourism departments budget in return for no department of tourism. If tourism businesses think they can gain benefit from promotion then they would fund their own private organisation and use this to promote services at much better cost/benefit ratios. Let those that know the industry fund and run promotion of it and not some politicians.
Yes, it is funded by the Govt, and the board members are appointed by the Minister. The latter point is a particular concern - go read Niall Crowley's book to see how the newly appointed board nobbled him.Is it not funded by the government? How does that make it independent?