Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Feb 2024

Vol. 1050 No. 5

Report of Joint Committee on Gender Equality: Motion

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I move:

That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality entitled "Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 15th December, 2022.

I am grateful for the opportunity to move the motion and speak today on this important report. I am honoured to be addressing the House as Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, which produced our report entitled Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality, copies of which were laid before the Dáil on 14 December 2022, more than a year ago now. At the outset, I reiterate my thanks to the other members of the committee who worked so hard in a relatively short and truncated timeframe of nine months on producing what I think is a really comprehensive, thoughtful and considered report. I also thank the secretariat, who did such great work in producing the report under tight time constraints. I also thank those involved in the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality, on whose works we were reliant. In particular, I am grateful to Catherine Day, who chaired the citizens' assembly and to the members of the citizens' assembly, many of whom engaged with us in the course of our deliberations. I also thank all those who appeared as witnesses before our committee and whose insights, lived experience, knowledge and expertise enabled us to produce our report. If I may, I thank a group of transition year students who are working in my office this week and who did some research for me for this speech: Juliette, Ned, Katie, Louie, Pau and Jean. I also thank Chloe Manahan, my political adviser, who has done a lot of work on this as well.

I was very struck by some of the observations made by the transition year students, who came to this report fresh and gave me some thoughtful insights into the views of 16-year-olds on gender equality. As one of the students put it to me, throughout history, women have constantly been the other, left to care for children, to clean, to cook and essentially to serve men, and this from a young man. Another, speaking about the referendum, which we will be addressing extensively as it arises from some of the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and the committee, pointed out that the referendum vote represents a "crucial step forward of many in a slow stumble uphill in the pursuit of gender equality in Ireland". I thought that sums up progress: slow and stumbling in many ways in our pursuit of gender equality in Ireland.

Our committee was very mindful of the slowness and stumbling steps in that title that we used, "unfinished democracy." It came from comments made by witnesses in a reporting process I had been involved in many years previously when I was first a Senator, in 2009. We produced a report on women's participation in politics and it was said to us that until Ireland has equal representation of women and men in the Dáil and Seanad, we are an unfinished democracy. It is a very strong phrase and something that came out really strongly from the citizens' assembly report as well as from our own work.

When we were starting our deliberations as a committee, we took the view that the 45 recommendations of the assembly amount to a blueprint for achievement of gender equality. They are so careful and considered and cover such a broad range of crucial issues. We looked at how best we could ensure implementation of those 45 recommendations. Our report is 144 pages long.

We attempted to present, the Minister in particular, and the Government as a whole with an action plan for how to implement those 45 recommendations. They span a broad range of issues, as I said. A large portion of them focus on care and social protection. As we have said in the past, it was no coincidence that this was the case because the assembly made its deliberations and carried out its work in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic and we were all increasingly made aware of the importance of care in society during that pandemic. Another issue that comes through clearly from the citizens' assembly is the gendered nature of care in society and the fact that a vast preponderance of both paid and unpaid care work is carried out by women. The gendered aspect was central to the deliberations of both the committee and the assembly.

There were also important recommendations on education; political participation and leadership in public life, violence against women and gender-based violence, and constitutional change. I am conscious that in the time available I cannot do justice to all those recommendation so I will focus on four key issues. I will have an opportunity to reply to the debate. The first of the four issues is constitutional change, which is the subject of the first three recommendations in our report and in that of the citizens' assembly that relate to changing Article 41 of the Constitution. This is topical as we are eight days away from the referendums that will take place on International Women's Day next week. Second is the issue of the care recommendations and the need to construct a real welfare state and a really strong framework for care if we are to achieve true gender equality. Third, and I may have to come back to this in a later contribution,is the issue of gender-based violence and the need for a more compassionate justice system, which is a need that emerges from our recommendations. Finally, I will look at the gendered nature of work and the continued feminist struggle for workplace equality.

The first three recommendations in our report, which mirror the first three in the citizens' assembly report, relate to constitutional change. We called for referendums to be put to the people in 2023. That was a unanimous call made by our committee. We were disappointed by the delay in securing the implementation of those recommendations, especially the one on time. However, we were glad to see the Government finally move to hold the vote. That view was shared across the committee and it was certainly the view of the Labour Party. During our deliberations, we were very careful to devise and propose a precise wording to give effect to each of the citizens' assembly recommendations. In following the citizens' assembly, we sought to do three things through constitutional referendum. The first did not relate to Article 41, but rather we would have amended Article 40.1 to insert express protection for gender equality into the equality guarantee of the Constitution. The assembly asked us to do that and to insert principles of non-discrimination more generally to reflect current human rights law and standards.

The Government took a decision not to proceed with the referendum on the equality guarantee at all. I want to put on record again my disappointment and that of the Labour Party about the decision that Article 40.1 would not be the subject of constitutional change. We carefully devised wording to give effect to the citizens assembly's recommendations. I see the Minister expressing some doubt. I acknowledge, as did all members of the committee, that this was a complex exercise and that it would be difficult to find a wording to amend the equality guarantee in such a way that would not create all kinds of other consequences. However, we proposed a wording and had hoped for more engagement on that.

Leaving that aside, the other two aims of our recommendations and those of the citizens assembly focused on Article 41. We wanted to delete the sexist and outdated language about women and mothers in the article, replace it with gender-neutral recognition of care and insert a more inclusive definition of "family" not limited to that based on marriage. We absolutely acknowledge that is what the Government is now moving on. The wording proposed by the Government to amend Article 41 seeks to delete the sexist and outdated language in Article 41.2, to replace it with a gender neutral recognition of care and to change the definition of the "family" to make it more inclusive. The Labour Party is, therefore, calling for a yes-yes vote, but I previously described our position on the referendums as being “yes-yes, and” because we were disappointed that the language proposed by the Government did not reflect precisely the wording and aims of the citizens assembly and of our committee. I will come to it in a little more detail, but we had hoped to see a more inclusive definition of "care" that would have covered care both within and outside the home and family and also put a stronger obligation on the State to recognise and protect care.

The "yes-yes, and" position is valid because the Constitution is about more than words. Its text can be used to bring about real change. It can be an advocacy tool and a basis for legal action. We in the Labour Party have a strong vision for a genuinely radical model of care, with a welfare state that supports its citizens and residents from cradle to grave. We acknowledge that the new constitutional recognition of care - even the more limited definition proposed by the Government - will represent a base from which to develop that vision, just as the new more inclusive definition of "family" can help to build protections against child poverty and homelessness. Just as important as getting the wording right and making the change will be achieving an impact for the better upon people’s lives. To subvert the suffragette slogan, we need deeds and words. We need to see real action on the change of the words, if the people vote yes-yes next week and the change is made next week.

I will speak briefly about the proposed change in the thirty-ninth amendment on the family. We recognise that the change is long overdue. The constitutional recognition of the family as only being based on marriage is highly restrictive and does not reflect the wonderful diversity of family life in Ireland today. In the debates on the legislation, some humorous and fanciful red herrings were raised. In this House and in the Seanad, we helpfully parsed and discussed the wording and that helped to achieve some clarity. There will be an immense positive impact of voting yes to a more inclusive recognition of the family, especially for the more than 15,000 cohabiting couples and their children - until recently, my family was one of those families - and for many other families, such as single-parent families, families where grandparents are carers and so on. It will have an important and positive impact on families like the family of John O'Meara, the father of three children from County Tipperary. We have spoken about his case previously, which clearly shows the need for the family referendum to be passed.

On the care referendum, we acknowledge the need to delete the sexist language on women having lives in the home and mothers having duties in the home. Our committee recommended a more inclusive wording on care to recognise care within and outside the home and family and we would also have inserted an obligation on the State to take reasonable measures to support care. By contrast, the Government's wording covers family care only, that is care inside family settings, and makes a somewhat diluted commitment to strive to support such care. It has been notable to see in recent weeks that some organisations from whom we heard at the committee, such as the Independent Living Movement Ireland, Disabled Women Ireland and Disability Federation Ireland expressed concerns about the wording on care. It is important that those of us who are calling for a yes vote be clear that we recognise the concerns that have been expressed, especially by disability rights groups, but we still assert that a yes vote is progress. It is not as much progress as many of us across the Opposition would like to see, but it is progress. It is a step forward. Perhaps the best way to put it is that we should not let perfection trump progress. Ultimately, in a referendum we have to make a binary choice between yes and no. We cannot vote against an amendment that deletes sexist and outdated language and for the first time recognises care in a gender-neutral sense. There is currently no recognition of care in the Constitution at all so it is important that the referendum passes. However, it is also important that we use that passage - and I hope it will be a yes vote - to ensure strong supports are introduced for carers and for those who receive care.

What we need to do is ensure the words are followed up by deeds by the Government. The recommendations of the citizens' assembly and our committee on care really do require implementation and would give effect to the purpose behind the care referendum. We need to see recommendations like the expansion of disability services to include in-home supports to ensure increased respite provision does not lead to the institutionalisation of those who receive care. We need to see specific access to personal needs assistants to vindicate disabled people's rights to travel and autonomy. We need to see supports and resources for independent living for disabled and older persons who may need support. We need to see a statutory right to home care and an intersectional understanding of disability in our delivery of State care. Initiatives like these and commitments from the Government on measures to support care will drive support for a "Yes" vote on care. We need to see the "and" included in the debate. While people are becoming increasingly critical of the wording of the 40th amendment, we must not lose sight of the fact that it will represent progress and a step forward. Crucially, it represents a starting point in the slow stumble towards equality – not just gender equality but equality for all. On that basis, we are calling for two "Yes" votes.

I hope to return to the other aspects of our report in a later contribution.

An Ceann Comhairle

Since only three Members are present, I wonder whether it would be appropriate to hear Deputy Cronin now and then ask the Minister to take his two slots together in responding. Do the Members want to proceed as normal?

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Once I can contribute again at the end.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy can contribute again.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I would be very happy with that.

Deputy Réada Cronin

I noticed when looking at the calendar that we would be discussing the report on gender equality on 29 February, the extra day in the leap year when a woman generally had the gender-equality option of proposing to her man. We have come a long way but we have a long way to go for ourselves, our sisters and our daughters, and indeed their daughters. We will not and must never stop in our push for gender equality.

I am reminded of the great Irishwomen in our history who sought to represent Irish women and girls at the founding of this incomplete Republic. I am thinking of my paternal grandmother, Madge Moynihan, and my maternal grand-aunt, "Babs" Walsh, both of whom were members of Cumann na mBan. I always think of them when I wear my Cumann na mBan brooch.

When the counter-revolutionaries had taken over and the declared and promised Republic was partitioned, and when their work was considered done, women were told they could go home like good girls and put on the dinner and that the lads would look after everything from then on. However, what was simmering in their kitchen saucepans was nothing like the desire that simmered in their hearts for the promised Republic declared in 1916, so eloquently expressed in our Proclamation. I refer to a republic that was to guarantee civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens and to its unashamed aspiration for the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation. That unfinished Republic, that unfinished democracy, is part of the history that goes before all of us here today.

The report of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality represents the conclusion of the committee's consideration of the findings of the citizens' assembly. I was delighted when I was appointed to it along with my party comrades Teachta Sorca Clarke, who could not be here today, and Senator Fintan Warfield. We, along with the other members, worked well together on the committee under the chairpersonship of Teachta Bacik. It was a really positive experience and we were a good example of how to work for a common cause beyond party politics.

The committee made 45 recommendations. It was the committee's stated intention that the report would act as a blueprint for the achievement of gender equality. We had 23 public meetings and received over 60 written submissions, evidence from which forms the basis for the report placed before the Dáil last December. Prior to the publication of the committee report, Sinn Féin had called for the Taoiseach to commit to delivering on the recommendations of the citizens' assembly. Sinn Féin wanted to see the full delivery of the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and those contained within the committee report. Recommendations include the holding of a referendum to amend the Constitution to give full recognition to the societal and economic value of care work, policies and investments that would provide equality of opportunity for women and girls with disabilities and the elimination of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

The action plan in the report is focused on the need for improved legislation and regulation and for the establishment of public services and social protection modelled to advance gender equality. It is disappointing that the Government's wording for the referendum ignores the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and the gender equality committee on the issue of care. The wording put forward by the citizens' assembly was carefully chosen. It was designed to enshrine recognition of the value of care within the text of the Constitution. The wording chosen by the Government in this referendum represents a missed opportunity. So far, the Government has failed to offer an adequate explanation for it.

The Government spent years prevaricating despite promises to hold the referendums. Then, when it did take a decision to hold them, it was seen to be rushing the process. My party and I believe the wording offered by the Government lacks ambition and the ability to deliver the real and meaningful change carers require. My party and I believe this referendum needs to act as a catalyst for meaningful change. Notwithstanding this, Sinn Féin has carefully considered the referendums. We are calling for a "Yes" vote in both – "Yes" to equality and "Yes" to fairness. The wording is not what we wanted but it is a small step in the right direction.

Terms and conditions for those in community care work remain inadequate. So too are the social protection provisions for carers. None of these reflects the innate value of this work to our economy and society. Sinn Féin wants to see big changes in this area. We want better wages, better working conditions and genuine opportunities to progress across the caring professions.

In addition, we are adamant that the Department of Social Protection should bring rates for carers into line with an essential minimum standard of living, with no ifs and no buts. If carers stopped working in the morning, society and our economy would grind to a halt. Carers care out of love, which is their strength, but it is also their weakness. They will not down tools, and the State knows they will not because of their love for the people they care for. This is a Catch-22 in the very difficult and very tired lives of carers, most of whom are women. Many are ageing and bear their caring in their bodies, with bad backs, necks and hands and often other injuries. That is before we mention their stress and worry about what will happen to their beloved if they, the carers, die.

To me, the State is not meeting its obligation to carers or disabled people, compounding the wrong. Nor is the State meeting its obligations to victims of domestic sexual and gender-based violence in terms of legal aid provided. That was made clear in November of last year on the publication of the Council of Europe's GREVIO committee report on Ireland. The committee called for an expansion of eligibility to existing legal aid, particularly for civil proceedings, and asked that it be made available as early as possible in the proceedings, including on reporting and investigation stages. A key aspect of the observations was the extension of offences for which victims can apply for legal aid. This is critical because levels of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence continue to rise. However, despite the rise we still lack the necessary data to understand why.

According to the GREVIO committee, which monitors the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, Ireland must begin the work of comprehensively mapping the nature and extent of violence against women and girls so we will be better equipped to prevent and intervene where it is most effective. We must do so immediately. In that context, I welcome the announcement last week on the launch of the new State agency Cuan, which is designed to tackle all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. However, any safe harbour is only as good as its structure, and this development must involve new levels of co-operation from all the relevant State bodies. Despite all the talk, supports for vulnerable women remain inadequate. It is only through the necessary co-operation that we will have the full picture and, therefore, the necessary coherence in fighting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Women's greatest supporters are other women. Indeed, without the support of other women, be they mothers, sisters or female friends, and childcare workers, the majority of whom are women, women would not even get the opportunity to neglect their "duties in the home" – that is, if they are lucky enough to have a home, but this relates to another referendum that we look forward to.

It is this spirit of solidarity I want to send to the women of Palestine. There is no greater or more pressing common cause today than the massacre of the women of Gaza and their children. Two mothers are being killed every hour, their children left grieving. Thirteen thousand children killed by Israel leave their mothers mourning them forever. It is a deliberate act on the part of Israel to target mothers, the glue in families and throughout the generations. It is part of their so-called strategy of mowing the lawn. This evening, I send our solidarity to all the women of Gaza who unable to deliver their babies without fear, unable to breastfeed their babies such is their hunger, unable to feed and bathe their children due to lack of food and water and unable to keep them safe. The massacres not only beggar belief, the also beggar our own humanity. This is not a war by any objective definition; it is annihilation. There was another massacre today when the IDF gunned down people waiting for humanitarian aid and queuing for flour. Who thought that we would see such times on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, Europe's own sea, where we holiday and go swimming with our own children? It beggars belief.

Back to the national solidarity, the joint committee took steps to and for equality, cognisant that no woman is free until all people are free. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I thank Deputy Bacik for her great work, her collegiality and comradeship throughout her chairing of the committee. We might agree that a woman’s place is always with the revolution. I will be there, and I will have the kettle on for the Deputy.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O'Gorman)

I hope Deputy Cronin might extend an old cupán tae to me as well during the revolution, because I certainly would like to be a part of assisting it.

Deputy Réada Cronin

Of course.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

I want to begin by welcoming all present for our debate on the joint committee's report Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality. As both Deputies have already described, the overarching goal of the report is to achieve gender equality within our society by means of a variety of targeted actions. That goal is also a key tenet of my Department's mission. This is outlined in our stated of strategy of working towards "a fair and inclusive society, where everyone can reach their full potential". In particular, empowering women and girls is a key priority of Ireland's domestic and foreign policy, with the aim of creating a fairer and more sustainable society.

Like Deputy Cronin, I extend my sincere thanks to Deputy Bacik, the Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, and, indeed, to her fellow members of the committee, for providing their valuable expertise to deliver this report, which, as stated, contains 205 actions and which has provided Government with a sharp focus on specific measures that we must achieve to bring about gender equality.

I also take this opportunity to thank Dr. Catherine Day, the Chair of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality, and all the members of that assembly for their delivery of key recommendations, which were expanded upon by the joint committee.

As the joint committee's report correctly outlines, "until gender equality is achieved, democracy is unfinished". That is why this Government is committed to tackling inequalities wherever they appear in our society. Of the 205 actions contained in the report, I am proud to say that 190 have either been completed or are in progress. Today, I would like to highlight just some of the concrete steps that have been taken in response to the recommendations and to ensure their implementation.

As Deputies will be aware and has been spoken about, a key recommendation of both the citizens’ assembly and the joint committee was to amend the Constitution to address the wording of Article 41. Government has considered these recommendations for constitutional change extremely carefully over a nine-month period, and we brought forward legislation enabling the holding of two referendums. If enacted, these will amend Article 41 of the Constitution to provide for a wider concept of family, and remove the exclusion of one-parent families and of unmarried couples living together with any children they have from the definition of the family in the Constitution. The referendums will also provide for the deletion of Article 41.2 of the Constitution and the outdated language that it contains, and the insertion of the new Article 42B, which recognises the importance of care and the different types of care within families and which will place an obligation on the State to support people in this regard.

The Electoral Commission has commenced its public information campaign. Printed material will be distributed to 1.8 million households. Ballot papers and polling cards have been printed. Some people in embassies around the world have already cast their votes in order to support that. As we know, the vote to take place next Friday, 8 March. I might come back to the referendums later.

I would like to set out the practical steps the Government has taken to address the other equally significant recommendations that the Deputies' committee brought forward. I will take this opportunity to focus on many of the themes that both Deputy Bacik and Deputy Cronin have honed in on.

In terms of the committee's report and setting out comprehensive steps to address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland, I was pleased last Friday to attend the launch of Cuan, the new DSGBV agency. I was involved in the programme for Government negotiations on the section on domestic violence and it was very much informed by engagement I had had with the DSGBV NGO sector over a number of years where its key concern was responsibility is fragmented. There is a bit in Tusla, a bit in my Department, a good bit in the Department of Justice and a large chunk in the Department of Health. There is also a bit in the Department of housing. It is all over the place. We have brought it all together. We listened to the sector because we put into the programme for Government an intention to conduct an audit and listen to the sector, and we did. I have to say the sector, certainly, those who I spoke to on Friday, recognises what Government and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, have done. Cuan's functions will include: the responsibility for co-ordinating and overseeing all actions set out in the third national strategy on the DSGBV - another point coming from the report that the committee brings forward; delivering key services to victims of domestic violence; and leading on an awareness-raising campaign, which was also set out within the committee's report.

In the context of another key action under the third national strategy, the Online Safety and Media Regulations Act was enacted in December 2022 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill passed Committee Stage in the Dáil last December.

While we recognise that persons, irrespective of gender, can be victims of DSGBV, we also recognise that a disproportionate number of victims are women or girls. My Department introduced domestic violence leave in November 2023. Ireland becomes one of the first countries in Europe to provide for paid leave for victims of domestic violence. Five days' leave per year came in from November 2023. This was another programme for Government commitment and also a commitment set out in the third national strategy. Employees who are experiencing domestic violence can now access five days' paid leave to help them access necessary supports. I hope this leave has already helped women, and, indeed, men, who are experiencing domestic violence to allow them to remain in employment and achieve their full potential because we recognise that those who are victims of domestic violence are also at a greater risk of poverty and supporting them to be able to maintain their income while they are addressing the consequences of the violence they have suffered is particularly important.

In terms of other measures Government has taken to promote gender equality in the workplace, the gender pay gap is a key measure of women's economic empowerment. This gap has decreased significantly in recent years in Ireland. It was 14.4% in 2017. It was 9.6% in 2022. In order to increase the diminishment of the gap, in 2022, my Department introduced gender pay gap reporting following the passage of legislation. That now requires organisations to report on their gender pay gap across a range of metrics, and also mandates them to set out how their will remove the gender pay gap within their organisation. In 2022, organisations with over 250 employees had to undertake reporting. That has now been extended to organisations with over 150 employees. My Department is bringing forward a centralised reporting system based on a website where everyone will be able to compare and see what is the gender pay gap of their organisation. I am proud to say my Department has a gender pay gap in favour of women because of the large number of women in high and management roles across the Department.

We have also expanded the family leave entitlement.

From August of this year, paid parent's leave will increase from seven weeks to nine weeks per parent per child. That is very significant. When I entered office, parent's leave was two weeks per parent per child. We will have increased it by seven weeks per parent per child in the lifetime of the Government. It is especially important in supporting dads who wish to undertake a caring role, particularly in the first two years of their child's life. We have also introduced the right to request flexible and remote working, as part of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Both of those rights will be commenced in the next number of weeks.

Both Deputies spoke about the importance of care and how fundamental it is within our society. We must acknowledge that women remain disproportionately responsible for unpaid care work, as Deputy Cronin mentioned. In the workplace, too, women are over-represented in lower-paid roles in the care sector. That is why we have taken steps to advance recognition of care and social protection in Ireland. Major reform has been introduced to the national childcare scheme, which is improving the affordability of early learning care and school-age childcare for families. Since I became Minister, there has been a 70% increase in the budget for childcare. This year, we will spend €1.1 billion on that provision. When I entered office, the expenditure was €638 million. This has had the impact of significantly decreasing the cost of childcare for parents, which we were able to reduce by 25% in January last year. The second 25% cut that will kick in from September this year means we will achieve the goal I set out of halving childcare costs for parents in the lifetime of the Government.

We recognise that the vast majority of childcare professionals are women. We also recognise that they are underpaid. Reference was made to the financial lack of value that is placed on a lot of care roles in Irish society. Through a joint labour committee and an employment regulation order in September 2022, 70% of childcare professionals saw a pay increase, many of them for the first time. This was the first statutory pay agreement for childcare professionals. Our work in this area is not done. I am committed to making more progress to ensure skilled and dedicated early years educators are paid their worth and can remain in the sector.

Allowances for carers have continued to increase. From January this year, there has been an increase in weekly social welfare payments, with the maximum rates of carer's allowance and carer's benefit also increasing. In addition, the income disregard for carer's allowance for both couples and single carers has increased under the most recent budget.

Further to recommendations by the joint Oireachtas committee regarding women in unpaid and lower-paid caring roles and the gender pension gap that results from this, the pension auto-enrolment scheme will be introduced in the second half of this year. The State pension system also gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace through measures such as the awarding of PRSI credits, the application of the homemaker’s scheme and the application of home care periods. Since January, the contributory State pension scheme recognises caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment.

While steps have been taken to improve equality for women with caring responsibilities in the home, I am happy to report that key progress has also been made to empower women of diverse backgrounds to participate in politics, leadership and public life, at all levels of decision-making. In this regard, the statutory minimum gender quota for men and women candidates from political parties standing for election increased from 30% to 40% in February last year. If this quota is not met, parties will lose 50% of their annual State funding.

The programme for Government also acknowledges the need for greater diversity and gender equality. It committed the Government to empower local authorities to encourage an improved gender and ethnic mix in local elections. In December 2022, statutory maternity leave for councillors was introduced for the first time. I have outlined my commitment to introducing practical and effective maternity leave for Members of the Oireachtas. Legislative proposals to provide for this leave are currently being developed and will be brought forward in the equality amendment Bill I hope to present for pre-legislative scrutiny in the near future.

In a similar vein, the joint Oireachtas committee report highlighted a range of actions to ensure a variety of career paths are open to all students regardless of gender. Gender-neutral career information must be provided to all students and must never focus on what men or women are expected to do. The professional development service for teachers guidance teams have increased awareness of gender-neutral career paths by, for example, putting a spotlight on women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, and ensuring unconscious biases are challenged through a range of workshops, webinars and newsletters. I am also pleased to report that in April 2022, the Minister, Deputy Harris, announced a gender-based bursary as part of the action plan for apprenticeships. Worth €2,666, it is hoped the bursary will encourage more women to take on a trade or craft.

A key aspect of providing equal access to education for all is the elimination of harmful gender norms and stereotypes. In December 2022, the Department of Education published Cineáltas, its action plan on bullying, which acknowledges that a person's likelihood of experiencing bullying can be linked to issues like gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other characteristics. The plan contains a broad range of actions to prevent and address bullying.

I reaffirm our commitment to advancing gender equality through law and policy. As Ireland's equality legislation was drafted almost 20 years ago, a review of that legislation, including the operation of the Equal Status Acts and the Employment Equality Acts, was timely. We undertook that review and, as I said, it is anticipated that legislative proposals arising from it will be brought forward in the coming weeks.

Work to develop a national equality data strategy, led by the Central Statistics Office, with support from my Department, is well advanced, and will be ready for publication in the coming months. It will have key benefits in terms of understanding the gender, racial and religious impacts of laws and the impacts on persons with disabilities. It is hoped the strategy will allow for a greater analysis of where needs are more acute and measurement of the impact of current interventions.

I take this opportunity to speak about the two referendums we will be voting on next Friday. Deputy Bacik referred to the concept of “yes-yes, and”. Whatever amount of time I have left in this role, which includes significant responsibility for caring roles, that certainly is the approach I will be taking. The Deputy spoke about the referendum to amend Article 41 and extend the vital constitutional recognition of the family. Deputy Cronin spoke about the reference in the Proclamation to men and women. It also talks about cherishing all the children of the nation equally. I do not believe we can say we are doing that when the family our Constitution recognises is only the family based on marriage and not the 150,000 cohabiting couples who live together and provide such an important foundation to our country and the thousands of one-parent families who also provide that foundation. Those families are omitted from the core document that is our Constitution.

Deputy Bacik spoke about some of the red herrings that have come up during the referendum campaign. The fundamental question I would like answered by those who are advocating a "No" vote on the thirty-ninth amendment is this: why we should maintain the exclusion of one-parent families and loving cohabiting couples and any children they might have from the constitutional definition of the family? That is ultimately the question that is before the people tomorrow week in the referendum on the thirty-ninth amendment. It is not about succession because that will not be impacted. It is not about taxation because that will not be impacted. It is not about the various other elements that have been raised. It is about whether we wish to maintain an exclusion of tens of thousands of families from our Constitution. I believe the vast majority of Irish people will say, "Yes, we want to include these families within the constitutional definition".

On the referendum to delete Article 41.2, Deputy Bacik spoke about the outdated language it contains. I know that not everyone sees it as sexist. I see as sexist the idea of women's duties in the home. The Deputy omitted to refer to what I think is the worst word in the article, which is "neglect" in reference to a woman's duties in the home. That is what is contained in the Constitution - a reference to the neglect of a mother's duties in the home.

For me and many in the country, the word "neglect" speaks to a level of judgment about a woman working outside the home.

I will restate something. I remember being taught the Constitution in first year law. When our lecturer read out these provisions, there were gasps around the room. Many people do not have the time to go through our Constitution and know what it says. Whenever I knock on doors during this campaign and meet a one-parent family, that parent is often shocked to realise that one-parent families do not have constitutional status. People do not realise there is an outdated and value-laden statement of neglect of a mother’s duties within the home. We have an opportunity to replace it with something meaningful, that being, a recognition of the care of persons with disabilities, which we discussed in detail, and the care provided by parents. I mean mams and dads, because it is important the role of fathers, brothers and husbands in care is acknowledged in our Constitution as well.

Regarding the idea of “yes-yes, and”, I am conscious, particularly in the sphere of disability, that some advocacy groups have raised concerns. One of the key “ands” that I will look to advance whatever the outcome of the referendums next week is the ratification of the optional protocol. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and I spoke about this in the Chamber on Wednesday. We are scoping a clear pathway towards identifying the domestic legislation that is a barrier to ratification. Once that work is done, we will bring together an interdepartmental group involving the Departments where that legislation sits and set out a clear pathway to amending it and bringing ourselves into a position where we can sign up to the optional protocol, further demonstrating that we sign up to the ideas in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

An Ceann Comhairle

Would Deputy Bacik like to conclude for us?

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Yes. I thank the Minister for his comprehensive and helpful overview of the work that has been done following on from the publication of our report. I thank Deputy Cronin and the Minister for their kind words. It seems we are all in the revolution together. Whatever about a woman’s place being in the revolution, I am struck by the old slogan, “A woman’s place is in the House – Leinster House”. We are still a long way off achieving equality in Leinster House, with only 23% of our TDs being women. To put it another way, 77% of our TDs are male, so we need to do much more in that regard.

I appreciate that the Minister started by noting that, of the 205 actions in the committee’s action plan, 190 had been implemented or were in progress towards implementation. It struck me that it would be helpful if we – I do not just mean those of us involved in this debate – could be furnished with that progress report and it was publicised. In fact, that is something we on the committee discussed, as the citizens themselves have asked us how we will ensure implementation of the action plan. We discussed trying to reconvene at a point six or 12 months on – I believe we even discussed it with the Minister during some of his very positive engagements with the committee – and formalising a follow-up. It would be good to have a published summary of the recommendations and the progress being made on them. It would be helpful even in the next week in the lead-up to the referendum.

Regarding the “yes, yes, and”, many organisations have expressed concerns about the wording, especially organisations concerned with disability rights. They are concerned about what the “and” is and what the Government will commit to doing regardless of whether the referendum is passed to ensure support for care beyond the constitutional text. It is the idea I mentioned of deeds as well as words. The Minister rightly pointed out that ratification of the optional protocol was important, but so are some of the measures recommended by the citizens’ assembly in the chapters on care and social protection. As the Minister stated, some are in progress and some are being implemented, but there are others that still require implementation. I will speak more in a moment about some of those aspects of care and support. Furnishing or making public an implementation list would be helpful.

Regarding the referendum, the Minister is right that the neglect language in Article 41.2 is deeply troubling and anyone who hears it for the first time is shocked. It is that visceral response we need to think about during the debate over the next week. I will be engaging in a number of debates and putting the yes-yes side. As one colleague told me, it is a matter for us to reflect on how we would feel on International Women’s Day, and two days later on Mothers’ Day, if there were a no vote on the fortieth amendment and people voted to retain the phrase that referred to mothers and the concept of neglect of duty by mothers, which is not only deeply troubling for women and mothers, but also for fathers, given their responsibilities and duties are not mentioned, even though many fathers now take on an important role in parenting. That is an important point to make.

Moving on from the referendum, I acknowledge the progress made on women in politics. The Minister made the point that the gender quota rises to 40%. The quota was put in place by 2012 legislation that largely arose because of our report on women’s participation in politics. In that report, we noted the five Cs that were barriers to women’s participation: a lack of cash; a lack of childcare; a lack of confidence; a culture in politics, which still remains very male dominated; and candidate selection procedures. We sought to tackle those five Cs, at least partially, through the implementation of the gender quotas. That the quota rises to 40% is welcome, as is the progress that has been made on maternity leave. I am glad to hear that measures on maternity leave for Oireachtas Members are coming through, too. Something the committee and the citizens’ assembly sought was an extension of the quota to local elections, given that local elections form the pipeline to the Dáil and Seanad, but we are still seeing no obligation on parties to run particular percentages of women or men. Of course, we are all conscious of the need to do so to meet the general election quota, but it is a glaring issue.

I am glad to hear the review of the equality legislation, which we referred to extensively in our report, is near completion, or so I believe the Minister said, and will be published shortly. That is important.

I will finish briefly on the three areas I mentioned where the assembly and our committee made some important recommendations. Regarding care, the idea of a real welfare state and a strong framework for care, we in the Labour Party believe in a strong welfare state to raise a floor beneath which nobody can fall. We believe in the need to ensure the State takes on this role of support. We can see that coming through strongly in the citizens' assembly’s recommendations, wherein there is a critique of a hands-off approach and a piecemeal, patchwork provision of care in the childcare and elder care sectors and the idea that a radical overhaul is necessary. The citizens’ assembly called for radical change in childcare and a move towards a universal, publicly funded model. In our action plan, we acknowledged the progress that had been made on reducing costs for parents, which the Minister discussed alongside investment, and increasing wages and pay for childcare professionals and early years educators. While those measures are welcome, we are still not seeing a radical shift – what we in the Labour Party describe as a Niamh Bhreathnach moment – towards a guarantee of childcare and preschool places. What I am hearing in my constituency, and this arose at the hearings as well, has to do with the lack of availability of places. This lack is still not sufficiently addressed in the Government’s response to our report.

The citizens' assembly and our report called for HSE-equivalent pay and conditions for home care workers and an examination of the intersection of care and social protection schemes. We supplied a pathway towards a person-centred and rights-based care infrastructure. What we on the committee were looking for was an end to the existing individualised and pay-per-use system that prevailed. I acknowledge that progress has been made, but there is still more to be done to move towards the vision that is so clearly evident in the citizens’ assembly and in the Oireachtas committee’s report.

Regarding workers’ rights, we acknowledged in our report the great progress on gender pay gap reporting. It is long overdue but important to see. We also acknowledged the progress made on domestic violence leave.

That was in train as we reported and, as the Minister said, it has been implemented since.

I am sorry the Government still has not introduced the reproductive health leave that we in the Labour Party had called for and that was called for in the report, as well as leave and pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. I acknowledge there has been some progress with the UCC study but we need to see it implemented. We also need to see real gender proofing. The Minister referred to progress on that in his speech but it came across very strongly in the citizens’ assembly. Gender proofing of budgets and legislation is needed to ensure that every new initiative serves to increase and strengthen gender equality, not to exacerbate inequality. We are hopeful there will be further progress on that particularly when we see the review of the equality legislation completed.

I will conclude on the issue of domestic, sexual and gender based violence. I welcome, as did Deputy Cronin, the establishment of Cuan, the new statutory agency. That was something that really came through strongly at the citizens’ assembly. I want to acknowledge it was not intended that it would address domestic, sexual and gender based violence initially but Dr. Catherine Day told us that the assembly ensured that it would include recommendations on that. They are really helpful recommendations. Key to them was the concept of a new statutory agency and it is really welcome to see that progress.

Last week, I attended a seminar, hosted by Labour Women and the Committee of the Regions. We heard powerful evidence from Women’s Aid and AkiDwA, among others. They expressed concern that even with the establishment of the statutory agency and even with the new third national strategy, which again, we acknowledge is great progress, there still are serious issues around court processes. These are long-standing issues like lack of supports for victims or complainants and a lack of access to authoritative and reliable data. That is a real issue which is linked to difficulties in the legal process. There is a need to ensure there is adequate refuge supports for women experiencing domestic abuse but crucially to also ensure that women do not have to always leave their homes. Something that successive Oireachtas committees and reviews have looked at is how the State can support those suffering domestic abuse and support them to be able to stay in their homes, both women and children, predominantly, rather than always trying to shore up, through refuge space and so on, supports for women who have been forced to leave their homes. These are big issues that our report and the citizens’ assembly could not solve but we did want to ensure that we were putting a marker down for the Government to address that.

There is a great deal more that could be said on our report, on the 45 recommendations of the citizens’ assembly and on our 205 actions. I thank the Minister for his really constructive engagement and, in particular, for outlining the progress that has been made on those recommendations. It is very heartening for us to hear that, as members of the committee. It would be very heartening for the members of the citizens’ assembly who I know are listening in and following this debate with great interest.

It is great we are having the debate a week before the referendums are being held. There was a long delay. That was disappointing for all of us and for the citizens so it is great to see that the referendums will be held and that we are moving forward on all those other recommendations too and I hope we can come back to this House at some point for further follow-up and further debate and discussion about further progress being made so we can see that unfinished democracy finally become finished.

Question put and agreed to.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 6.44 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 5 Márta 2024.

The Dáil adjourned at 6.44 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 5 March 2024.