Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. I thank the Minister of State for joining us today and for his comprehensive, if slightly concerning and worrying, report. I stepped out to speak in the Seanad so I apologise for any repetition.

The most concerning thing I see is that only one in five of the SDGs is on track. We are doing quite well, but in general that is the global progress. What is the best way to deal with that? Can Ireland play a role in speeding that up? I appreciate the work we are doing on this.

The Minister of State mentioned gender equality, which is goal 5 of the SDGs, its importance and the importance of improving female participation in society. Can I get a bit more detail on that and on the work Ireland is doing to promote that SDG on gender equality and sexual and reproductive health rights? Given the stance being taken by the US at the moment, how are we progressing that on a European as well as a global level?

That leads me to my next question about the Global Europe spend. Which like-minded countries are we working with in pursuing the same goals?

Reverting to gender equality, how does the Minister of State feel about putting forward gender equality measures in Europe when not all our European colleagues are quite as open to or accepting of gender equality and sexual and reproductive health views as we are? We saw that in recent years during European negotiations with the differences of opinion across the Union on the directive on gender-based violence. What kinds of difficulties does that present? Are we playing a vocal role in the promotion of goal 5? Obviously there are issues outside Europe, but there will be issues, as I see it, with the Union as well. How is that being dealt with?