Monitoring decent work in Ireland. ESRI Research Series June 2021.

Work is core to people’s livelihood, their identity, and their well-being. Having a decent job gives workers adequate financial resources and contributes to their physical and mental health, their personal control and sense of purpose. Being unemployed or in poor quality work can have a damaging impact on other areas of life, including health, housing, or income. There has been extensive scholarship on labour market inequalities in Ireland, and while these studies offer significant insight into understanding the nature of work, they do not adopt a rights-based approach. This report considers decent work in Ireland in the context of international obligations about core minimum standards of work and nondiscrimination. It applies social science methods to monitoring international commitments on economic and social rights. This report develops a set of indicators for monitoring and then provides baseline figures on access to, and experience of, decent work across different groups in Ireland. Monitoring can provide evidence for policymakers, highlighting at-risk groups; it can inform the assessment of Ireland by UN international treaty monitoring; it can help to highlight data gaps and measurement limitations; and will also ideally inform public debate. The purpose is to highlight deficits or challenges in realising the right to decent work, rather than explaining the processes underlying these outcomes. Following a review of international measurement frameworks and consultation with stakeholders in Ireland, the report identifies six key dimensions of work and corresponding indicators: access to work; adequate earnings; employee voice; security and stability of work; equality of opportunity and treatment in employment; and health and safety. These are then applied to available survey data collected on the eve of the pandemic. Any assessment of the equality impact of the pandemic will be informed by understanding the situation prior to the pandemic. As is usual for a monitor, results for each indicator are presented as rates or scores for different groups and are not modelled. Therefore, the analysis does not allow us to identify the causes of group differences

Gender balance at work: A study of an Irish Civil Service department

While men occupy the majority of senior positions in the Civil Service, they are more likely than women to perceive gender bias in promotional competitions, according to an ESRI study. The study draws on survey responses from 904 Civil Servants within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) from 2018, as well as administrative data from the Department. DAFM has been actively involved in dealing with the challenge of gender balance in their Department, and the 2018 survey was undertaken as a means of determining the road map for future action. The report examines gender differences in flexible working, promotions, training, and networking

Origin and integration: a study of migrants in the 2016 Irish Census

Many migrant groups have higher educational attainment but higher unemployment levels, according to a new ESRI study.</jats:p

"Out of the shadows: legislating for hate crime in Ireland" - preliminary findings

In October 2014 the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, in association with the NGO Working Party on Hate Crime, commissioned the Hate and Hostility Research Group at the University of Limerick to investigate the case for the introduction of hate crime legislation in Ireland. This Report represents the preliminary findings of this research. It addresses the treatment of the hate element of crimes under existing law, the suitability of various options for legislative reform to the Irish criminal justice system and presents proposals for legislative reform

"Out of the shadows: legislating for hate crime in Ireland" - preliminary findings

In October 2014 the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, in association with the NGO Working Party on Hate Crime, commissioned the Hate and Hostility Research Group at the University of Limerick to investigate the case for the introduction of hate crime legislation in Ireland. This Report represents the preliminary findings of this research. It addresses the treatment of the hate element of crimes under existing law, the suitability of various options for legislative reform to the Irish criminal justice system and presents proposals for legislative reform

Measures to combat racial discrimination and promote diversity in the labour market: a review of evidence

Racial discrimination in this report is understood to mean ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin’ (ICERD, Article 1). Discrimination is distinct from racial prejudice (an attitude) and stereotypes (beliefs). Discrimination can be damaging to both individuals’ life chances and their wellbeing, as well as to society (OECD, 2013; Fibbi et al., 2021). Yet discrimination is difficult to measure accurately. It is also challenging to devise measures to combat discriminatory behaviour and promote diversity. This report reviews international literature on racial discrimination in the labour market and the effectiveness of measures to combat it. The aim is to distil the evidence into a short report to inform measures addressing discrimination in the labour market, including the current development of the National Action Plan Against Racism. The focus is on specific measures that can be implemented now to address current racial discrimination in the labour market.</jats:p