Decentralisation

The Equality Tribunal will decentralise to Portarlington

Under the Government’s decentralisation plan, announced by the Minister for Finance on 3 December 2003, the Equality Tribunal is scheduled for decentralisation to Portarlington, about 40 miles south west of Dublin just off the M7 motorway.

The Equality Tribunal is an independent organisation responsible for investigating or mediating claims of unlawful discrimination. Its core values are impartiality, professionalism, accessibility and timeliness and it acts at all times in accordance with natural justice.

The Equality Tribunal is a statutory office of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. As such its 30 staff are part of the cadre of the Department and its posts are established positions in the civil service. The principal grades are at AP level (including 9.5 specialist Equality Officer posts) and at CO level, with posts also at Director (Assistant Secretary grade), PO, Legal Advisor (PO grade), HEO and Service Officer. In addition there is a temporary legal research contract post equivalent to EO. The Equality Tribunal aims to be a best practice employer with a motivated and enthusiastic team and in particular has an active Training Strategy for all levels.

Civil and Public Servants interested in decentralised positions within the Tribunal should use the Civil Service Commission’s Central Applications Facility (CAF) on www.publicjobs.ie to apply for the relevant position. If you wish to talk to someone about their experience of working in the Tribunal, please email your query to decentralisationinfo@equalitytribunal.ie.

Over the coming years the Equality Tribunal is committed to achieving decentralisation in as smooth, effective and efficient a manner as possible. The Tribunal’s implementation planning focuses on three key aspects:

1. Sustained delivery of customer service.
2. Sustained professional competence through staff retention, recruitment and training.
3. Establishment of comprehensive knowledge management systems to maintain organisational memory.

In particular every effort will be made to ensure that the Tribunal maintains high quality and effectiveness as a quasi-judicial forum. It recognises that the smooth transfer of its operations to Portarlington represents a significant challenge and it will work closely with its Users Forum to mitigate any risks or adverse effects on customer service.