Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is good to have examples. In the North there is a process extending from the Good Friday Agreement, although it comes from the old system of one-party or one-community rule up there. It is section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and it obliges Departments to proof their budgets for equality issues. It does not happen in all Departments but it does happen where Sinn Féin has a Minister. It is an independent process. Would the witness like to see that gender-proofing so that the Department of Education and Skills, for example, would have to follow that process? In the North the process applies to both sectors and regions.

I agree completely about the emphasis placed on home help issues, which ties into the previous comment about casual labour. Women are the predominant providers of home help and their hours are being reduced. These people are in a terrible trap, which is a horrible position both for the providers and receivers of home help. Much of the focus is on the people who will lose the service but the providers will also have a problem.

The witnesses outlined a third rate of tax for incomes above €100,000 but what is the suggested rate? The issue of part-time work has also been raised and dealt with. There was mention of a universal pension funded through the removal of tax reliefs from private pensions. Will the witnesses expand on the concept?