What the rows over skorts and public toilets reveal about Irish attitudes to equality
It is usually the case that the law lags behind changes in social norms. However, two unrelated recent controversies bely the reality that Ireland has had nearly 50 years of gender anti-discrimination law and 25 years of anti-discrimination legislation in relation to services, including public toilets, sports and sporting facilities.
The Public Sector Equality and Human Rights duty – which requires public bodies such as
Dublin City Council
and
Sport Ireland
to promote equality and human rights when they are carrying out their functions – has been in place for 11 years.
The recent controversies are about the requirement for camogie players to wear
skorts
and the proposal to close Dublin city centre's last public toilets, a plan aborted after an outcry and opposition from all city councillors,
who condemned it as 'ludicrous'.
Ireland was once a European leader in combating discrimination. In the early days of the equality legislation more than 40 years ago, the Labour Court interpreted the employment equality act as providing protection against discriminatory dress codes in the workplace, which required female employees to wear skirts or dresses.
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However, equality and human rights standards now seem to be unknown or forgotten. Ten years after the historic marriage equality victory, we appear to be still working to advance rights and equality for all.
Take the question of the future of the capital's remaining public toilets, operated for the last five years by a private company, which is going out of business. Dublin City Council has backed down from the planned closure but it shouldn't take an outcry for the council to provide toilets for the use of citizens and visitors. In 2020 the council opened toilets at two locations, on Grafton Street and on Wolfe Tone Square on the city's northside. The northside toilets were subsequently relocated to Ryder's Row off Capel Street and decommissioned in 2022 with the council citing 'complaints of antisocial behaviour in the area and low usage'.
A worker puts the finishing touches to the newly installed public toilets at the top of Grafton Street, at St Stephens Green, Dublin in 2021. Those toilets will remain open, the city council has said. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Toilets are a basic human right. Access to facilities is not just a matter of convenience. It is about preserving health, equality, safety, dignity and privacy for all. These human rights concepts are reflected in documents ranging from our Constitution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been interpreted as requiring states to 'ensure that everyone, without discrimination, has physical and affordable access to sanitation in all
spheres of life, which is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable, provides privacy and ensures dignity'.
The human right of access to sanitation is particularly relevant to anyone with small children, a disability, continence issues, or who is pregnant, menstruating or breastfeeding. It is also a huge concern for the thousands of people in Dublin experiencing homelessness, including the families who have to leave emergency accommodation B&Bs after breakfast. The lack of public toilets also contributes to environmental pollution. Stepping over human faeces is a sad fact of Dublin life these days.
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Camogie skorts controversy can be explained by a single photo
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The legally-binding Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty should require human rights, equality and poverty-proofing of the plans, policies and decisions of public bodies such as Dublin City Council before they are implemented. Dublin City Council said it would close the toilets due to reduced demand. Are equality and human rights factored into its considerations about the provision, or lack of provision, of public toilets?
The skorts rule – which is due to be voted on this evening by the Camogie Association – represents the enforcement of outdated gender stereotypes and conventions, and can be seen as the exercise of power and control over women's bodies. There are a number of measures open to public bodies to help ensure the dignity and privacy of camogie players are respected.
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U-turn on Grafton Street toilets as council reverses 'ludicrous' closure plan
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Organisers of sporting events and facilities like Camogie Ireland are subject to anti-discrimination law. The Camogie Association receives significant financial support from the State. In granting public funding Sport Ireland can look to promote equality by requiring non-discriminatory dress codes. It is valid to ask to what extent Sport Ireland requires those granted significant public funding to equality-proof their rules and regulations.
Ireland's national and human rights and equality body IHREC has used its power to request 'equality reviews' to promote equality of opportunity in sport. It recently published an account of one such
equality review
it invited Gymnastics Ireland to undertake after an independent review into a '
botched children's medal ceremony
', which saw the judge omit to present a medal to the only black child present. The IHREC intervention, which requested that the equality review focus more generally on the structures and practices put in place following the independent review, resulted in Gymnastics Ireland adopting 'a strong policy and procedural framework to protect and promote [equality of opportunity]'.
A similar intervention in the camogie context would be welcome. It is also available to IHREC to conduct an inquiry into the matter – or other issues such as the lack of accessible public toilets – either of its own volition or at the request of the Minister for Equality. IHREC has recently exercised its unique statutory powers in combating systemic issues, such as the shameful mistreatment of single male asylum seekers.
After a campaign led by FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) for a review of Ireland's inadequate and flawed equality legislation, the Government recently published the General Scheme of an Equality Bill and committed to prioritising it. While it requires some improvement and expansion, the Bill contains a number of powerful provisions and its enactment would be a positive statement of intent from our recently appointed Minister for Equality.
Ireland has a vibrant and diverse array of community and civil society groups who are committed to human rights and equality, and who can work together to achieve a fairer and more inclusive society. Access to public toilets and freedom of choice for camogie players would be two basic but important steps towards that society.
Eilis Barry is chief executive of FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres)
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