Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for missing the first half of this session. I was in the Seanad speaking on a matter but the contributions I have heard from this committee have been excellent. I thank the witnesses for that. I have read other contributions also. I was very happy to hear that the approach being taken is to not pitch different groups of women against each other. I strongly believe that the only way we are going to achieve real equality is by working together for our common good and the elevation of all women in Irish society and the world, so I was very glad to hear that.

I have a brief comment before I pose questions. With regard to the cleaner approach being the deletion of the article, one could say that about every article in the Constitution.

It would be much cleaner for everybody if most of them did not exist so I do not consider that to be a basis on which we should proceed. I come to this with an open mind and am listening to the contributions. I will weigh them up, discuss them with my colleagues and decide our approach then.

This is my question to any and all of the witnesses. We could change the language in the article to be gender neutral and remove the economic element, which would serve the purpose of recognising the value of care, and that would then remove the public expenditure element, since we are afraid of creating economic rights and taking that public expenditure role away from the Oireachtas. Would that be enough to elevate the status of care? If we are to have this article as a persuasive point, for the witnesses to use to lobby us and for us to use to lobby the Government, would it be enough to neutralise it with regard to gender, remove the economic element and have this debate in the Oireachtas, with a discussion of care on the airwaves and in the campaign? I think it is very hard to say.