Irish lawmakers last week approved
legislation which extends LGBT protections to people working in
religious-run state institutions.
The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Bill repeals exemptions in the Employment Equality Act which
effectively allowed such institutions, primarily schools but also
hospitals, to discriminate against workers on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity.
Gay rights activists applauded the
move.
“The Bill is the key piece of the
legislative map that will allow LGBT people to be themselves, get
married and have a family without a threat to their job if they work
in a religious-run institution,” said
Sandra Irwin-Gowran, director of education policy at the Gay and
Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN).
“This new legislation protects
teachers in these areas from discrimination and it provides a new
space for gay teachers to become part of the communities in which
they work and live for the first time,” said a spokesman for the
Irish National Teachers' Organization LGBT Group.