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

Members may attend physically in the committee room or may join the meeting via Microsoft Teams from their Leinster House offices. I know that some colleagues are going to do the latter. Members may not participate in the meeting from outside the parliamentary precincts. I ask members joining on Teams to mute their microphones when not making a contribution and to use the raised hand function to indicate. All those present in the committee room are asked to exercise personal responsibility in respect of protection against the risk of contracting Covid-19.

I welcome very heartily the two representatives with us from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU: Mr. David Joyce, equality officer; and Dr. Laura Bambrick, head of social policy and employment affairs. They are very welcome. On behalf of the committee, I welcome them particularly for having made themselves available today at short notice due to a change at the last minute in our schedules. We really appreciate that. We also appreciate their being here early because we were ready to start early. That is how efficient the committee's business is. We really appreciate their co-operation and their facilitation of that.

Before I ask the witnesses to make their opening statement, I must read out an important notice regarding parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they give to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to 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 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 in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

I will now invite Dr. Bambrick and Mr. Joyce to make their opening statement before opening the floor to members for questions and answers. As I always say, this is a time-limited special committee. We were set up last December to explore the 45 recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, which we regard as presenting us with a blueprint for change on gender equality. Our view throughout our public hearings has been that we are looking at the practical implementation of those recommendations. We have asked all our witnesses to address that. I thank today's witnesses for having been so focused, in their fuller submission to the committee and in the opening statement we have been given, on how we achieve implementation of the recommendations. We have invited them to address in particular recommendations 32 to 36, on pay and workplace conditions, but we are conscious that in their fuller submission they have addressed a number of other recommendations that would have relevance for ICTU. We may well wish to explore some of those in the questions and answers. I thank the witnesses again. I invite them to make their opening statement.