Priorities for Legislative Reform in Northern Ireland 

The Commission has the duty to keep equality legislation under review and there are a number of areas where we believe reform to be both necessary and desirable. These are:

• the extension of age discrimination legislation to non-employment areas to match the protection available in all other discrimination law;
  
  
• the amendment of the Race Relations Order (NI) 1997 to ensure that the protection from discrimination and harassment on the grounds of colour and nationality is afforded the same level of protection as other racial grounds, across the scope of the race equality legislation;
  
  
• the amendment of the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 to prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment by public authorities on the grounds of sex in the exercise of public functions;
  
  
• the amendment of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability (NI) Order 2005 in order to secure greater protection for disabled people across the scope of the disability legislation;
  
  
• the extension of monitoring requirements under the fair employment legislation to the grounds of nationality and ethnic origin, and the introduction of other changes in order to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the monitoring Regulations;
  
  
• the amendment of the exception in the employment provisions of the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998, as regards the recruitment of teachers in schools.
  

Full details of recommended changes
Related article
Related statement
Submission from ECNI to House of Commons Equality Bill Committee - June 2009
Equality Commission calls for reform of race relations legislation