Nesbitt secures Equality Commitment from Government
After a one-hour heated meeting on Friday afternoon with Equality Minister Lord Rooker, Dermot Nesbitt has secured a commitment from government to examine issues related to Protestant employment.
Dermot Nesbitt said: “I have been assured at my meeting with Lord Rooker, after what could only be described as a robust exchange of views, that it will examine with the Equality Commission the aspect of Protestant under-representation in recruitment to the public sector. This under-representation has occurred in six of the last eight years of public sector appointments and up to now it was a no-go area for government examination.”
“No doubt Government hoped that if it lay low and said nothing that it would escape having to address the issue. Government may well accept that Protestants feel discriminated against and that equality law is not for them, but to date it has refused totally to do anything about it.”
“It is extremely sad and disturbing that Government persistently refuses to act with integrity unless it is pushed and pushed very hard. It gives me no pleasure to engage in heated meetings – no pleasure at all. Only now, at the end of a lengthy series of meetings and written presentations by me, was Government prepared to act. To obtain this commitment was, quite frankly, like getting blood out of a stone.”
“Is it any wonder I am told by some that I waste my time on this issue because Government will never act with integrity when it comes to genuinely expressed concerns from the Protestant community? These Protestant concerns are not just noticed by me, as a public representative, but have also been expressed by church leaders – a point I indicated to Lord Rooker.”
Dermot Nesbitt concluded: “I look for nothing more than a fair and even-handed approach by Government. That robust meetings are required to secure such fairness from Government says much about its integrity. Vigilance will be required to ensure that commitments given will be delivered. I intend to seek a further meeting in the near future to gauge progress on these commitments given by Government.”