Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

The proposal would add “socio-economic disadvantage” as a protected ground in Ireland’s equality laws, so people could not be treated worse at work, in training, when buying services, seeking accommodation, or joining certain clubs because they come from a poorer area or background. It aims to cover things like accents, local areas associated with poverty or crime, and other signs of disadvantage, giving people a clearer way to challenge that kind of discrimination. It also matters symbolically: it would say that disadvantage linked to class or background should be treated as seriously as other forms of discrimination.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to provide for prohibiting discrimination on the basis of a person’s socio-economic disadvantaged background, for those purposes to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000; and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 14 May 2025