Ms Orla O'Connor:

If it is all right with the Chair, I will start by giving the committee the context of Professor Pras's visit to Ireland.

I thank the committee members for the opportunity to come and speak to them today and I wish them a happy International Women's Day. A world congress on women's mental health has been going on for the past three or four days in the RDS in Dublin. It is being jointly hosted by ourselves, Trinity College, Dublin and the International Association of Women's Mental Health. It has been examining women's mental health needs within the context of health and well-being for women.

As part of the congress, we had the pleasure of inviting the UN special rapporteur, Professor Dainius Pras, to Dublin. He addressed the congress this morning at the event for International Women's Day. That is to give the committee a sense of what this is about and also to be clear that this is an unofficial visit by Professor Pras. An official visit by a special rapporteur is when the Government invites him or her to make a report on the State. This is an unofficial visit on the invitation of the National Women's Council of Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin. It does not result in a report but is a way of meeting people in Ireland.