Statement on the report of the Citizen’s Assembly on Gender Equality

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, T.D., has welcomed the submission by the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality of its report to the Oireachtas.

Commenting on the Assembly's work, Minister O'Gorman said:

"I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Assembly, Dr Catherine Day, for her achievement in expertly guiding its work over the past two years. Dr Day has broken new ground for deliberative democracy in Ireland, successfully moving the Citizens’ Assembly’s meetings online so that it could continue its work.

"The commitment and dedication of the members of the Assembly, who have given their time and attention to its deliberations over this period must also be acknowledged and celebrated.”

Referring to the report itself, Minister O’Gorman continued:

“In this report, the Citizens’ Assembly has delivered a rich and nuanced portrait of the state of gender equality in Ireland, and expressed a high level of ambition for change.

“With the report now submitted to the Oireachtas, the next step will be for the Oireachtas to determine its response.

“The Government has committed in the Programme for Government to responding to each recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality. I will, with my colleagues in Government, examine these recommendations. The Government is taking the issues raised very seriously.”

Noting the submission of their Report to the Oireachtas, Taoiseach Michael Martin thanked the Chair of the Citizens Assembly and each member for all their time and commitment in producing their report:

“I commend the dedication of each and every member, and in particular Chair Catherine Day, for producing this report and recommendations under very changed circumstances caused by the pandemic. I look forward with interest to reading the Report which has been presented to the Oireachtas in the first instance for consideration in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Assembly. The recommendations announced in April are across a number of different areas and Departments, including Constitutional change, Childcare, Care, Leadership and Politics, Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based violence, Pay and the Workplace and Social Protection and I can assure you that my colleagues in Government and I will give serious consideration to the detailed findings and to the changes proposed and move quickly on reform in all of these areas.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar also welcomed the Report:

“For too long women and girls have carried a disproportionate share of caring responsibilities, been discriminated against at home and in the workplace, overlooked, objectified or lived in fear of domestic or gender-based violence. It must stop. At the same time, we should recognise the enormous changes for the better that have occurred in recent decades. No generation has seen as much progress towards gender equality as we have. There is more to do.

“As Taoiseach, my ambition for this Citizens’ Assembly was that it would challenge the barriers, social norms and attitudes which facilitate this gender-based discrimination, setting us on a path to becoming a world leader on gender equality in all its forms.

“The recommendations of Catherine Day and her Assembly are very significant and call on us to make big changes quickly. I look forward to engaging on them with my Government and Oireachtas colleagues.”

Minister O’Gorman also highlighted ongoing work in relation to gender equality, noting that significant advances have been made in recent years to address inequality in Irish society, with the Government’s commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive and equal society re-affirmed through the Programme for Government commitments to achieve social solidarity, equality of opportunity and economic equity for all. These measures include:

Further advances in family leaves, including the extension of Parent’s Leave and Benefit, and work was continuing with a view to giving effect in Irish law to the EU Work Life Balance Directive.
With a view to increasing pay transparency and encouraging employers to calculate and address their gender pay gaps, the Government’s Gender Pay Gap Information Bill is shortly to begin Second Stage in the Seanad, having completed all stages in Dáil Éireann.
The matters of maternity and paternity leave for councillors, Senators, TDs and Ministers are under active consideration by the relevant Government Departments.
The Government remains committed to the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention, and addressing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. A scheme of domestic violence leave is currently being scope and a report of recommendations is hoped to be ready In June 2021 with legislative proposals to follow by October 2021.
The National Strategy for Women and Girls has been extended to end 2021. In the Programme for Government, the Government has committed to developing and implementing a new Strategy.
The establishment earlier this month of an interdepartmental working group will facilitate the embedding of the Equality Budgeting Initiative across all Government departments, and guide its continued progress, building on the audit of Equality Data completed and published last year by the CSO.
A review of the Equality legislation is planned to begin in 2021, this will incorporate consideration of the gender ground and of the introduction of a new ground of discrimination based on socio-economic status.
Ireland’s first Remote Work Strategy was published in January 2021 and consultations are continuing, to inform the development of a national flexible working policy, taking into account the needs of families, employers and the broader economy.
Government Departments are committed to implementing the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, and considering how to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans.

ENDS