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

Members now have the option of being physically present or may join via Microsoft Teams from their Leinster House offices but may not participate in the meeting from outside the parliamentary precincts. If joining on Teams, I ask members to mute their microphones when not speaking and use the raise-hand function to indicate. To limit the risk of spreading Covid-19, all members, visitors and witnesses are encouraged to continue to wear face masks when moving around the campus and when they are in close proximity to one another, and to adhere to public health advice. I welcome our witnesses, Ms Emer Neville, president, and Ms Saoirse Exton, equality officer, Irish Second-Level Students Union, ISSU, who are here with us in person. I also welcome Mr. David Byrne, Technological University, TU, Dublin, who is joining us via Teams.

Before we begin, I will read 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. Participants in the committee meeting who are in locations outside the parliamentary precincts are asked to note that the constitutional protections afforded to those participating from within the parliamentary precincts do not extend to them. No clear guidance can be given on whether or the extent to which participation is covered by the absolute privilege of a statutory nature.

We are delighted to have the Irish Second-Level Students Union and Mr. Byrne from TU Dublin with us. We are dealing today with the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality related to norms and stereotypes and education. Those are recommendations 26 to 31. We have already engaged with the Minister, Deputy Harris, and other stakeholders from the third level sector, including the Union of Students in Ireland. We are delighted to have the opportunity to speak about norms and stereotypes in education at primary and second level, especially to speak about secondary level with the ISSU.

We in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality have taken the view that the 45 recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly are a blueprint for achieving greater gender equality in Ireland. Our mission is to create a mechanism for the implementation of those recommendations and our focus is on how to practically implement them. We will propose, at the end of our term this December, to present a report or essentially an action plan to Government on how to implement the recommendations. That is the background to our work. We are very grateful to the witnesses for engaging with us and providing us with opening submissions and for coming in with us today. I call on Ms Neville to make her opening statement.