Twenty-four organisations representing minority groups will hand a letter into the offices of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, today, urging him to delete provisions from the Intoxicating Liquor Bill which they claim will undermine the Equal Status Act.
The organisations, which include the Forum of People with Disabilities, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Traveller Movement, are acting under the banner of the Coalition for Equality.
Their letter will tell Mr Ahern that the provisions in the Bill are "not designed to address anti-social drinking behaviour or curb alcohol abuse. They simply seek to undermine the ability of those who suffer discrimination to access user-friendly redress procedures," they will say.
The coalition is particularly concerned about section 19 of the Bill, which would transfer discrimination cases against publicans away from the Equality Tribunal and into the District Courts.
"The reason for this provision is particularly unclear as it was not even a recommendation of the Commission on Liquor Licensing," the coalition says.
"The speed at which the Government is attempting to bring these changes into law, when they will have such an adverse affect on people protected by equality legislation, only aggravates the concern shared by us all on the dismantling of the anti-discrimination protections," the letter will tell Mr Ahern.
The coalition has sought a meeting with the Taoiseach to discuss their concerns but has not been given a date. The letter is intended to outline its concerns.
Mr Ahern is being asked to delete section 19 which, the group says, will undermine the Equal Status Act "in a matter of days".
The Vintners' Federation, however, has welcomed the provision in the forthcoming Bill.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has defended section 19, saying the equality law would be strengthened by current proposals and not diluted at the behest of publicans.
