Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Apologies have been received from Senator Higgins and Deputy Clarke. I welcome Senator Ruane and Deputy Cronin, who are substituting for their colleagues. Senator Doherty is joining us online from home. I warmly welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to the committee. I thank him for joining us. We are very grateful to him for doing so. We look forward to the engagement.

Members have the option of being physically present in the committee room or they may join the meeting via Microsoft Teams from Leinster House offices but they may not participate in the meeting from outside the parliamentary precincts. If joining on Microsoft Teams, those attending should mute their microphones when not making a contribution. In order to limit the risk of spreading Covid-19, the service encourages those present to continue to wear face masks when moving around the campus or in close proximity to others, as well as to adhere to rules on social distancing.

The meeting will be in two sessions. For the first session, we have an engagement with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, to discuss the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, particularly those related to the Constitution and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Thereafter, we will go into private session to deal with committee business.

I welcome the Minster, Deputy O'Gorman, who is accompanied by Ms Jane Anne Duffy, principal officer at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I warmly welcome them both and thank them for engaging with the committee. We are conscious that many of the issues under the 45 recommendations come within their remit and that of their Department in some way. We are very grateful for their attendance. We will be engaging with other Ministers as we go through the recommendations in modular fashion. At the end of April, we will have an engagement with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on the recommendations relating to sexual and gender-based violence. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is the first Minister to come before us and we are delighted to have him.

Before we begin, I draw our guests' attention to an important notice on parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is 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 any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

I invite the Minister to make his opening statement.