But, unfortunately for the equality cause, Crowley left the authority vulnerable to attack by an unforgiving minister through his hubris, apparent empire-building and often cavalier attitude to taxpayers’ money. Like most quangos, the Equality Authority became engorged during the boom years, its voracious appetite for public cash appearing to grow with feeding.
On its establishment in 1997, the authority’s annual budget was €378,000. Before restraints were introduced, this figure had bloated to €5.9m. Its staff numbers have grown from single digits in 1997 to more than 50 today.
The authority became a byword for grandiose expressions of platitudinous piety, in a dizzying array of formats.
Crowley and his champions may be aghast at the thought, but most members of the public will have cheered last month when Ahern ordered the authority to end its relentless production of glossy reports and brochures, extravagant information campaigns and lavish PR fanfare. This kind of ostentatious malarkey has more to do with the promotion of the equality industry than equality itself.
The proliferation of campaigns is a particular bugbear with Ahern, and it’s easy to see why. Much of the spending on dubious consciousness-raising drives — such as the €230,000 splurged on the botched Say No To Ageism poster-series — has simply been wasteful.
Worse still, in what looks suspiciously like an attempt to maintain its media profile between legal actions, the authority has repeatedly associated itself with campaigns that are clearly outside its remit. Among the typically frivolous wheezes with which it's been involved is Work Life Balance Day. At a time when the work-life balance of many people is dictated by growing unemployment, this prissy festival of banality is more likely to raise tempers than consciousness.
Crowley should ponder the fact that, while the authority performed much undeniably useful public service during his tenure, his resignation will not be mourned by many beyond the bleeding-heart intelligentsia. For most citizens, Crowley had become a walking billboard for the unqualified promotion of a rights-based equality culture that places no emphasis on civic responsibility, especially among groups such as travellers who play an active role in creating the prejudice that exists against them.