Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
Ireland’s equality laws are primarily imposed by the Equal Status Acts (ESA) and the Employment Equality Acts (EEA), which despite being heralded as progressive two decades ago, have since faltered in a pandemic that has exacerbated many of the inequalities in Irish society. In particular, the legislation fails to address intersectional discrimination by requiring claimants to establish their protected status by identifying a single source of disadvantage, which is at odds with the overlapping characteristics that make up Ireland’s increasingly diverse population. Similarly, damages under the existing statutes are limited to just €15,000 under the ESA and €13,000 for non-employees under the EEA, which has the problematic symbolic effect that discrimination is not viewed seriously enough by the legislature. Through analysis of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) in the United States, the potential creation of a standalone tort of discrimination, and Irish constitutional torts, the author proposes a framework utilising tort law as a vehicle for providing redress against racial discrimination in Ireland …

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Simon Sun, ‘Sticks and Stones: A Three-Pronged Approach to Redressing Racial Discrimination through Tort Law’, 27 Trinity College Law Review 231 (2024).