Jobs for the Boys on Equality Authority
dublin |
rights, freedoms and repression |
press release 
Friday July 04, 2003 15:11
by Joe Mac
McDowell appoints party hack to Equality Authority
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell shows his departments "commitment" to equality by appointing former PD election candidate for Dublin South Central Bob Quinn to the board of the Equality Authority.
Sinn Féin representative Killian Forde has said that Michael McDowell's appointment of a totally ill equipped and unqualified fellow party member, Bob Quinn, to the Equality Authority is disgraceful and nothing more than jobs for the boys. He called on Mr. Quinn to do the right thing and turn down his appointment as a board member of the Equality Authority.
Responding to Minister Mc Dowell's announcement of the new Equality Authority board (on June 25th), Forde said:
"The Equality Authority mission proclaims that it looks to 'Providing leadership in building a commitment to addressing equality issues in practice'. It is beyond me how the Minister, who seems determined to undermine the work of the Authority, through his public sniping and the introduction of legislation such as the Intoxicating Liquor Bill (2003), can credibly be seen to promote equality when he has now resorted to the tactic of rewarding party members with high profile positions of state boards which they are ill equipped and unqualified to contribute to.
"While I am realise that the procedure of stuffing semi state boards and state boards with 'loyal members' is a long held 'reward' for holding office by many of the establishment parties, I firmly believe that appointments to the Equality Authority should be on the basis of suitability and expertise.
"Do Minister Mc Dowell and Bob Quinn not realise that the other side to discrimination is favouritism. This favouritism is the only reason that Bob Quinn was appointed to the board and as such Mr Quinn lacks any sort of credibility. He should be ashamed to walk into a meeting to discuss discrimination when the only reason he is there is political patronage.
"I am calling on Bob Quinn to do the right thing and turn down his appointment to the board."
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5Is this is the same young PD that was on the Late Late show last year stating his opposition to same sex marriage.
And now on the Equality Authority!!
Nice one Herr MCDowell and in the same week of Dublin Pride!
Mind you the labour party was pretty good at nominating its stooges to these boards also.
Just what makes someone qualifed for the Equality Tribunal ?? So how can we tell if this guy is not qualified ?
What makes you think you're qualified to question him? You don't even know what he's been appointed to.
It's the board of the Equality Authority, not the "equality tribunal" (there's no such thing, but I assume you mean the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations).
Maybe you should, you know, KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT before posting the first thing that pops into your head on here.
As the author of the statementr let me clarify what i mean by qualifications.
Bob Quinn has demonstrated no experience, interest, commitment or understanding of what is meant by equality or discrimination.
The EA has a mandate to "building a commitment to addressing equlaity issues in practice" (EA Mission Statement).
They define discrimination as "less favourable treatment" and that "A person is said to be discriminated against if she/he is treated less favourably than another".
Now given that the only reason that Bob Quinn got the appointment is that is a member of the Progressive Democrats he has recieved the appointment based on favouritism. Now imagine that equality is the perfect middle ground of which either side is discrimination and the other favouritism.
Discrimination ceases to exist without favouritism. This added to the fact that he has already nailed his colours to the mast in relation to sexual orientation (one of the nine grounds covered in equality legislation that it is illegal to discriminate against people on) and you have an appointment of a person that is unqualified.
The minimum qualities that a person should have to be included on the EA is an open mind and independent, neither of which Bob Quinn has demonstrated.
Therefore his unsuitable and McDowells attempts to emasculate the work of the EA and the tribunal shoudl be resisted.
BTW - In this weeks phoenix it is alleged that the new Chairperson of the EA is a personal friend of Mary Harneys.
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