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Eighty Years of Talking about Equality in Northern Ireland. Fran Porter Queen’s University Belfast Northern Ireland f.porter@qub.ac.uk.
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Eighty Years of Talking about Equality in Northern Ireland Fran Porter Queen’s University Belfast Northern Ireland f.porter@qub.ac.uk
Paper presented at the Pluralism and Equality Conference, Helsinki, 18-21 May 2005 The full paper will be available from the project website at www.qub.ac.uk/heaein June 2005
Equality Where? How do the specific and distinct historical, socio-economic and political factors in Northern Ireland affect the emergence, presence and/or resolution of other equality questions: Why equality?• Equality for whom? Equality of what? • How much equality?
Northern Ireland • A small jurisdiction constitutionally within the United Kingdom but geographically on the island of Ireland • Created in 1921 • Population of 1.6 million • Approximately 60% of the population identify politically and culturally with Britain and 40% with Ireland
‘The Troubles’ • British and Irish? • Catholic and Protestant? • Ethnic or Sectarian?
. The ‘Peace Process’ • Paramilitary ceasefires 1994-1997 • Multi-party talks • The Belfast Agreement 1998 • the Good Friday Agreement • The Northern Ireland Peace Agreement • The Northern Ireland Act 1998 • The Northern Ireland Assembly (suspended)
Five Equality DomainsJohn Baker et al (2004) Equality from Theory to Action (Palgrave Macmillan) • Respect and Recognition • Resources • Love, Care and Solidarity • Power • Work and Learning
Equality Discourses • Origins of the Northern Ireland State • The post World War II Welfare Provisions • Civil Rights Movement (1967) • Fair Employment Legislation • Women’s Movement • Gay and Lesbian Liberation and Rights • Racism • Disability
Nine grounds of positive equality duties for statutory bodies (Section 75 of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act) religious belief political opinion racial group age marital status sexual orientation men and women persons with and without a disability persons with and without dependants Peace Process 1994-2005