Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to welcome Ms Saraswathi Menon, director of policy, UN Women, an entity established in 2010. I am also delighted to welcome Ms Lilian Looloitai, director, Community Research and Development Services, CORDS, a voluntary organisation concerned with the development needs of the pastoral communities in northern Tanzania; our good friend, Mr. Jim Clarken, chief executive officer, Oxfam Ireland; and Dr. Nata Duvvury, co-ordinator of global women’s studies and the MA in gender globalisation and development at NUI Galway.

Gender equality is a fundamental human right and essential to effective poverty reduction. Advancing the empowerment and equality of women is fundamental to the elimination of gender inequalities in access to, control of and the benefit of resources and services. Irish Aid, the Government’s overseas development programme, has placed a strong emphasis on the need to advance equal rights for men and women and actively supported work in our partner countries to combat gender-based violence, improve maternal and reproductive health services, prioritise the nutritional needs of pregnant women and infants, increase access by girls and women to education and assist women affected by or living with HIV-AIDS. Irish Aid supports local protection programmes in some of our partner countries which are actively directed towards women in vulnerable circumstances, increasing participation by women in politics and women’s access to and control over agricultural resources and services.

Last August, with Mr. Jim Wells, MLA, and Mr. Jim Clarken, I visited northern Tanzania to see at first hand the work being done by our non-governmental organisations. I am delighted we met two of our guests today there. We were given a great insight in the work being done to overcome the obstacles, the culture and the difficulties women encountered in African societies. Only last week a delegation from this committee visited Sierra Leone to review the delivery of the Irish Aid programme there. We were struck by the immense challenges faced by women. For example, gender-based violence is a serious problem.

Maternal and child mortality rates are extremely high. Education levels for women and men are poor. I believe from visiting Tanzania and Sierra Leone that education will play a key role in developing gender equality. The delegation was also impressed by the delivery of the Irish Aid programme in Sierra Leone and what can be achieved through the careful targeting of resources at gender equality and women's empowerment. Resources were focused on schools feeding programmes, infant nutrition, maternal and reproductive health and support for victims of sexual assault. The delegation was also pleased to see the strong involvement of women in decision-making processes and co-operative agricultural projects.

If this kind of work is to be strengthened and embedded, we must maintain our focus. The supports that a single international gender entity such as UN Woman and organisations such as CORDS and Oxfam can provide are essential in ensuring the actualisation on the ground of the principle of equality. I am delighted to welcome some of the people who were involved in our trip to Tanzania, where we saw at first hand the plight of the Masai people.

Before inviting the witnesses to make their presentations, I wish to advise they that they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of utterances at this committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease making remarks on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their remarks. They are directed that only comments and evidence relating to the subject matter of this meeting are to be given, and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a Member of either House of the Oireachtas, a person outside the Houses or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I invite Ms Saraswathi Menon to address the committee.