Bringing Equality Into the Staffroom- INTO Equality Initiatives Deirdre O’Connor INTO Equality Officer

Please indicate whether you think each of the following ten statements is true or false : –It is unlawful for a primary school to advertise for an “Irish” teacher. –There is no longer a compulsory retirement age for teachers. –Lesbian and Gay teachers can legally marry in some EU states. –It is lawful for a denominational school, in order to protect its ethos, to refuse to promote a teacher who is divorced. –A teacher with a disability is entitled to “reasonable accommodation” of their disability in the work place. –Life expectancy for members of the Traveller community is much lower than for the general Irish population, with half of all Travellers dying before the age of 39. –Paid paternity leave is a legal entitlement in Ireland. –Women teachers are less likely than men to be Principal Teachers. –A teacher’s religious belief may be taken into account when a Board is employing a teacher. –Ireland has high levels of income inequality, with 16.5% of the population “at risk of poverty” (2007).