I thank Senator Conway for raising this matter on the Adjournment.
I want to take the opportunity, at the outset, to emphasise my continued commitment, and that of the Government to promoting good employment and equality practices by all employers in Ireland, including those in the SME sector. As we have highlighted on a number of occasions, there is a body of evidence that, in addition to improving the welfare of workers, such practices have advantages for firms in respect to improving competitiveness and stimulating innovation.
The panel to which the Senator refers relates to activities undertaken by the Equality Authority under an overall Equality Mainstreaming Approach programme. This programme was set up under the 2007 to 2013 Human Capital Investment Operational Programme in Ireland. The Equality Mainstreaming activity is jointly funded by the European Social Fund and from the Equality Authority's Grant-in-Aid provision, to a maximum of €4 million over the period of the ESF programme. In this context, I should explain that expenditure incurred in 2014 is also covered.

Overall the programme aims to contribute to improving access to the labour market for specific groups experiencing barriers to employment. It does this by supporting small and medium enterprises, providers of vocational education and training, and providers of labour market programmes to make institutional changes to combat discrimination, to promote equality and to accommodate diversity.

The selection of individual projects for funding is a matter for the project management, within the criteria set out and agreed with the ESF for the overall programme. There are a number of distinct strands to the programme.

Support packages are provided to vocational education providers, training providers and labour market programme providers, and to trade union and employer networks.

Research is funded to support the knowledge base on groups vulnerable to discrimination, across the nine grounds protected under equality legislation.

The development of resource materials is funded, supporting good practice in combating discrimination, promoting equality and accommodating diversity. For example, an employer’s guide to equality in the workplace was developed with the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, and is actively disseminated within the SME sector by that body.

A fourth strand involves the provision of consultancy support benefiting enterprises. In the form of projects undertaken on a sectoral basis with groups of enterprises and other stakeholders, such support is ongoing.

In the first 4 years of the programme, equality expertise was also made available to enterprises on an individual basis under a grant scheme for SMEs. Under this grant scheme small businesses have been offered from one to four days’ consultancy support by expert equality trainers and facilitators to put in place equality policies and practices. This support was paid for directly by the Equality Authority. 282 individual SMEs benefited from direct interventions of this nature, with spending on the SME Grant Scheme amounting to €759,000.

As I explained, it is the Equality Authority in its role of project manager which has responsibility for the selection of individual projects for funding. In preparing its workplans, the Authority is advised by a National Framework Committee comprising of social partners, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Finance and other stakeholders.

Senator Conway will be aware that this Committee took a decision in early 2011 that it would not be prudent to operationalise the SME Grant Scheme in that year. In the current difficult economic environment, the Committee proposed that a sectoral project approach, through which equality expertise could be made available to enterprises, might be an effective mechanism for engagement with the SME sector. Accordingly, the SME Grant Scheme did not operate in 2011 or 2012 and it is not planned to operate it in 2013. I support the decision made by the Authority, which is a valid one in the very difficult economic and budgetary context we face.

While the Equality Authority has made no announcement regarding its priorities under this programme for 2014, I am also advised that the Authority has not closed the door on reinstating an SME Grant Scheme in the future, if and when the budgetary outlook is more favourable.

I thank the Senator again for raising the important topic of the mainstreaming of equality on the Adjournment.

ENDS