I refer to the finding of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, that one of the Government's Ministers of State, Deputy John Halligan, discriminated against a serving civil servant during the course of an interview. A number of issues arise. First, on the payment of the fine imposed, I am concerned that a double standard is being applied. The Tánaiste will recall that when the Government finally confirmed that an unlawful overpayment had been made to a Minister of State, through no fault of the Minister of State concerned, it was determined that the sum should be repaid. I understand arrangements for the Minister of State to repay the money are in place, but we have not heard a word from the Tánaiste or the Government about this fine, despite the fact that it had been imposed as a result of the Minister of State's own personal breach of employment equality legislation. In that context, I ask the Tánaiste to clarify whether the Minister of State will be required to recoup to the Department the full amount of the fine.

The next issue is apologising to the victim of the discrimination. During the course of the aforementioned interview the Minister of State began by saying, "I know I shouldn't be asking this;" therefore, we can see clearly that he had full knowledge that on what he was embarking was wrong. Without playing word games, will the Tánaiste take the opportunity to apologise and make it clear that this approach which we thought had disappeared from interviews 20 years ago or more is not tolerated as part of normal procedures?

Will there be other consequences for Deputy John Halligan, given that he is a Minister of State in the Department responsible for equality law and has broken that law?

I was disturbed by and disappointed to read the decision of the Workplace Relations Commission. I read it again this morning. It is absolutely clear that the Minister of State's questions during the interview were discriminatory and unacceptable.

The Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, has expressed regret for what happened. The incident should never have happened and he has accepted that. Deputies will be aware of the importance I place on gender equality. Many of us in this House, including Deputy Howlin, worked for a long time to make sure that having a family should never be interfered with, whether one was promoted or got a job. We worked hard to ensure there would be strong anti-discrimination and equality legislation in place. Indeed, Ireland's body of employment law protects all persons employed in Ireland. Clearly, we never want to see sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community placing a barrier when one is looking for a job. That is the first point, on which I think we are all extremely clear.

The Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, has issued a statement and has expressed regret. In regard to the Deputy's point about an apology, of course, the person is owed an apology and I would unequivocally give that on behalf of the Department. We certainly regret what happened and accept the decision of the Workplace Relations Commission which was issued yesterday. In regard to the fine, the obligation falls on the Department to pay that fine, and that is the situation, whatever approach the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, takes. I am sure, no doubt, that when he returns on Sunday - he is abroad at present - he will give a more detailed statement-----

Is there a war in Thailand as well?

He will give a more detailed statement in regard to some of the issues the Deputy has raised and in regard to some of the discrepancies the Deputy mentioned. As I said, the Deputy has raised a number of issues in regard to this. The Minister of State has expressed his regret and I certainly accept that he has done that.

I thank the Tánaiste for the clarity of her response. The battle for equality in terms of employment for women has been a very long battle and it is not over. On the notion that Ministers would revert to practices that we really thought were gone, I do not think anyone in any interview situation would begin to believe one could ask those sorts of questions now. This level of clarity might be something positive to emerge from this debacle, and I thank the Tánaiste for that. There should be no ambivalence in regard to the type of questions that are appropriate because other employers will look at and take signals from this. I welcome what the Tánaiste has said. I ask her to go further and be crystal clear that the whole process of ensuring complete equality in terms of employment and interview processes will be maintained, not only in the public service but across the entire employment sphere.

My Department this morning issued an email to all Department staff to remind them again of the policies and procedures that are in place. It is important to note they are in place across the Civil Service, in particular the dignity at work policy and grievance procedure. The dignity at work policy defines what is meant by bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. Indeed, we have been hearing an awful lot about this in our media recently. There is a mechanism for reporting and for investigating bullying or harassment complaints. Similarly, the grievance procedure is in place to ensure that managers and staff encourage and maintain good employee relations. I agree that a lot of work was done over 20 years ago to make sure this was understood but I would make the point that, as we see from all the recent revelations, this issue in regard to women's equality is ongoing and needs constant vigilance and monitoring.