Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I often think that going from that meeting to this meeting is like going between two different worlds. We always talk about much more positive things in this room. There are two things that I wanted to touch on. There is much in the recommendations about childcare and caring that speaks to a better society as opposed to just achieving gender equality. In this committee, we have to think about what we can deliver to focus on the issues of gender equality, which is ultimately our role. The wording of a constitutional amendment will be one issue. Perhaps the witnesses have not given it much consideration. There are recommendations about the proposed wording for how caring is treated. Have the witnesses reflected on that? Do they think it is valued within the overall proposals? We have had many discussions here about creating a hierarchy of inequality by mentioning different groups, which we try to avoid. We had a discussion about caring and recognising the different types of caring. Are the witnesses happy with the wording that came out of the report and how caring is reflected by it?

My second question is about the exit mechanisms from caring. There are many people who provide childcare, care for an older relative or somebody with a disability. Their circumstances might change and they reach a point where they finish their time of providing care. Our social welfare system often treats people who are applying for carer's allowance like they are getting some sort of State bonus instead of recognising that they are contributing towards a cost that the State would otherwise incur. It is remarkable how the HSE and social workers do not automatically link the provision of a carer's allowance with an overall package that is provided to somebody who is exiting hospital. That is a separate point. Many people leave caring and want to go back into the job market or some form of training and education. There is not an easy transition for many of those people. Have the witnesses given any consideration to that?

I return to the Acting Chairman's point about the representation of men in many professions. We have talked about teaching and how that impacts perceptions of particular professions by both male and female students. Whether it involves family members or people being cared for, is there a perception that a gender is the preferred gender for caring? Have the witnesses considered how education and training boards, ETBs, and other training agencies could proactively encourage more people into those professions that have lower representation? During the recession, I saw many men who might have been involved in construction or other professions, who never considered caring as an option before, go into it because of changes in the market and really enjoy it. The Acting Chairman talked about older men perhaps being more comfortable with personal care being provided by a man. Do the witnesses have practical examples of how we might be able to do that? I apologise. There were a lot of questions.