Bríd Smith warns Sodexo should be removed from anti-racism committee

I want to focus on one specific question to you as a new minister and it's an issue that's gravely concerning me. It's to do with program D in the estimates, an equal and inclusive society, civil justice and equality pillar. And I want to ask your views on a committee that was set up by your predecessor on combating racism. This committee is to report within three months and complete its work within a year and I'm sure we all wish it all the best. and its composition includes many people that I would hugely welcome in terms of diversity and coming from different sections of society and also people with a track record of fighting racism and discrimination. I am however stunned by the inclusion of one representative of a global multinational company who whatever their own particular individual records or abilities are on this committee, that there is a representative of a firm and I find it quite shocking that we would appoint a member of a company to an anti-racist body when that company quite frankly has a very disturbing history and has been subject of multiple human rights campaigns, campaigns against abuses and the shocking treatment of migrant workers and minorities in the institutions run by them. The company's name is Sodexo. It's one of the largest outsourcing companies in the UK. It has a range of services based on over 100 professions, including onsite services such as school kitchens, privatised prisons, hospitals, benefits and reward services. like childcare vouchers. And it faces copious allegations of racism throughout its employment hierarchy. In 2005, Sodexo was forced to pay $80 million in compensation to thousands of black employees who claimed that they were excluded from promotions and segregated in the company by fellow workers. Just a couple of other cases that ring alarm bells. In April last year, an inquest found serious failures at Sodexo prison in Peterborough in Britain and they found that the failures there had contributed to the death of Annabella Landsberg, a 45 year old prisoner who was restrained by four officers and left for 21 hours alone on a prison floor. One campaigner in this case noted that in other cases in the British prison system, and I'm not implying anything about the Irish prison system here, but it's about the company who run the prisons. And I quote, black women consistently die in contentious circumstances where there are serious concerns about their dehumanising treatment. Another case in a prison run facility by Sodexo shows that it is medical and prison run facilities show that they rely heavily on migrant labour and disproportionately on female labour. And there are huge question marks over the treatment of these workers. One report noted it's reliant on almost entirely migrant women from the Philippines, Lithuania, Portugal, Sierra Leone and Brazil. And these workers were excluded from the NHS pension scheme, paid less than the in-house staff and forbidden from using NHS canteens and facilities. And I use those as more recent examples of the behaviour of this company. But really what I want to ask you is to look at this and consider it not just a historical case. Clearly, clearly the company have attempted to rebrand itself in the face of inclusion and diversity. But the problem is that a company which relies on migrant workers with a history of racism and exploitation. They may well rebrand themselves, but it's a corporate model and takes over what are key public services and seek to run it on a for profit basis. And this business model, which beneath the veneer of corporate responsibility and progressive sound bites, still rests on precarious, low paid, mostly migrant women workers. It is not an ally in the fight against racism, but is actually the very bedrock on which racism stands and breeds. So I want to ask you, Minister, to reconsider this representative as being suitable for the committee. We were promised in the recent discussions about direct provision and in the outcome of the government that we would see a move away from the for profit system of direct provision. Why are we including a representative of a profit driven company appointed to a committee which is carrying out extremely sensitive and necessary work? And quite frankly, Minister, I find it bizarre and unsettling. Sodexco have no place on this important group. And since Paul Murphy isn't here and I have a couple of minutes left, I too want to repeat the question about what we campaigned for and voted on the last dollar in relation to justice for Shane O'Farrell. And to see an inquest or an independent inquiry into the circumstances of his death and the aftermath of it. Just to re familiarise everybody with it, Lucy O'Farrell would have met practically everybody in the last dollar, including everybody who's sitting here today and campaigned very strongly for justice for her son. And we voted for that, that there would be an independent public inquiry and I've yet to receive an answer from either the Taoiseach, the former Minister for Justice, and I hope that the new Minister for Justice will give us a clear answer on that issue and take this family out of the agony and anguish that is daily facing. Thank you. Thank you. Rock good on Tara. To thank the Deputy for raising both of these issues. To thank the Deputy for raising both of these issues. Firstly, in relation to the Anti-Racism Committee, as you've rightly outlined, this was announced and formed in June of last year by my predecessor, Charlie Flanagan, and I want to thank him for his work in this role. In terms of the terms of reference, I mean that there's a wide scope here. It's there to review the current evidence on racial discrimination in Ireland, to examine international practice in combating racism, to hold stakeholder dialogues, to identify the views of wider civil society members of the public, members of the Oireachtas here, the business sector, media, and other relevant parties. It's there to produce an interim report to Government, not more than three months after its first meeting, identifying priority issues and a programme of work for the Committee. Obviously, a lot of things have been delayed because of COVID-19, but if we look at the Committee, it will broadly consult in developing new ideas for fighting racism and recommending an action plan for Government at the end of this work. We expect it will probably take a year. My understanding is that the first meeting took place via Zoom on Thursday the 18th of June. Both Minister Flanagan and Minister Staunton addressed it at that time. Just to maybe comment on and to address the specific question around the individual that has been mentioned. In determining the membership of the Anti-Racism Committee, my Department was very eager to gain a wide range of experience for the reasons I have outlined in the terms of reference that have been set out. The individual to whom the Deputy is referring has been appointed to the Board of the Anti-Racism Committee in her personal capacity. This is very much because of her considerable expertise at a senior management level in promoting diversity and inclusion inside and outside of the workplace. I believe that she has demonstrated a strong leadership role in championing diversity and inclusion within leadership roles in the corporate sector in Ireland, and has very personally committed herself in this area for her role and for her work in this area. She was made a Chevalier de L'Oréal Nature Tour de Merit by the French Ambassador to Ireland. As a member of the Anti-Racism Committee, I do not believe that she as an individual represents the interests of any particular company. In relation to the company that you have mentioned, Sodexo, in the United Kingdom, I think it is what you are referring to. However, Sodexo in Ireland was awarded the gold standard in excellence through people by the National Standards Authority of Ireland in 2018. It was also voted one of the best large work practices in Ireland in 2018 by the Great Places to Work Institute. So I think this individual herself will bring something very significant to this role, and I think that is really what we have tried to achieve in outlining the members of this particular committee, but also ensuring that they can actually fulfil the terms of reference and carry out the work that we have asked them to do. Thank you.