The Impact of the EU on Equal Pay in Ireland

Abstract

This paper discusses and analyses the impact of EU non-discrimination law, specifically gender related non-discrimination law at Member State level. In particular, the paper focuses on the specific area of gender related non-discrimination law that is concerned with equal pay. As a result, the central focus of this paper is assessing the impact of European Union (EU) policy on the area of equal pay at Member State level. To do this, this paper has chosen Ireland as a case study. Ireland is an interesting case to study the impact of non-discrimination law in the area of equal pay, as, when Ireland joined the EU, it was a conservative, patriarchal society that was heavily influenced by the teachings of the Catholic Church. Ireland thus acts as a research site in order to gauge the impact of EU pay related gender non-discrimination law in a country that in many ways was not ready for the changes that EU legislation brought. This analysis is done from a political science perspective that uses Europeanization as a theoretical model which allows for the analysis of the impact of EU policy at domestic level. Due to this discussion and analysis we can begin to answer the question of whether or not EU legislative initiatives have led to Europeanization of the area of equal pay in Ireland.