Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976

PART I The Fair Employment Agency for Northern Ireland

1 Constitution and general duties of the Agency

(1) There shall be a body named the Fair Employment Agency for Northern Ireland (" the Agency "), consisting of a chairman and at least five but not more than eleven other members all appointed by the head of the Department of Manpower Services for Northern Ireland (" the Department "), which shall have the duties of—

(a) promoting equality of opportunity in Northern Ireland ; and

(b) working for the elimination of discrimination which is unlawful by virtue of this Act,

and for the purposes of discharging those duties shall have the functions conferred on it by this Act.

(2) Schedule 1 shall have effect with respect to the Agency and its affairs.

2 Educational functions

(1) In order to assist the Agency in discharging its duties the Agency may—

(a) establish services for giving advice on matters connected with equality of opportunity ;

(b) provide training courses ;

(c) hold conferences;

(d) undertake research which appears to the Agency to be necessary or expedient for purposes of its functions; and

(e) disseminate (subject to the safeguard in Schedule 5, paragraph 12(4)) information about the Agency's activities or anything to which those activities relate ;

or it may arrange for, or assist (financially or otherwise), any of those things to be done.

(2) The Agency may make charges for training or other facilities or services made available by it.