The information contained on this page represents the situation as of 1 January 2012 and is a summary of the country report produced by the country expert from the network. The summary can be downloaded here as well.

Contact: 
Orlagh O'Farrel
E-mail: orlagh_ofarrell@yahoo.com

The make up of Irish society is quite homogeneous. According to the 2011 census,[1] of a population of 4,588,252, 84% are Roman Catholic, 2.8% Church of Ireland (Protestant), 1% Muslim , 1.8% no religion, remainder unstated or various religions. 85% describ themselves as white Irish, 0.6% as Irish Travellers. 58 697 people describe themselves as Black or Black Iri. Between 2006 and 2011 ‘Other White’ (non-Irish) rose by almost 43 %, largely due to immigration from Eastern European countries.

The Equality Acts prohibit discrimination across nine grounds, but govern different aspects of discrimination.  The Employment Equality Act 1998-2008 prohibits discrimination in the sphere of employment; the Equal Status Act 1998-2008 prohibits discrimination in the provision of goods and services; the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 prohibits discrimination in the provision of occupational pensions. 

The Employment Equality Act 1998-2008 introduced the enforcement mechanisms for the Equality Acts.  The enforcement mechanisms apply equally to public and private employees with the exception of certain public sector employees. Complaints under either the Employment Equality Act 1998-2008 or the Equal Status Act 2000-2008 may be brought before the Equality Tribunal.