Ms Liz McManus:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting us to attend. I appreciate that the committee has a lot of work items on its agenda and it is really appreciated that time has been made available to us.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, UNSCR 1325, recognises the unique and disproportionate impact of conflict on women, but it is also about the critical role women can play in war prevention, peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. As a consequence of signing the UN resolution, Ireland produced a national action plan that was published in 2011 and which set targets both in terms of international engagements but also in terms of domestic work, specifically the work of this committee and that of the Department of Justice and Equality, and the role of the Defence Forces. We are talking about the recruitment of women into An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces and the approach taken in our overseas work. We also focus on the services provided in this country for women who come from conflict zones.
I am the independent chair of the monitoring group which is composed 50:50 of civil society organisation, State agencies and Departments. I pay tribute to all of the members who give of their time to make the group work. One of the tasks we had to fulfil was delivery of a mid-term review which was ably carried out by Ms Karen McMinn and Ms Bronagh Hinds. The report is lengthier than the national action plan. It sets out clearly what progress has been made and what work still needs to be done.
It is worth noting that the Defence Forces come in for particular praise in how they have responded to the national action plan. Work is also being done by the Department of Justice and Equality, but there are also outstanding issues. I will quickly read the recommendations made and conclusions reached:

The Department of Justice and Equality should progress actions to promote awareness and provision of support services to women and girls from conflict-affected areas living in Ireland who are experiencing or recovering from domestic, sexual or gender-based violence [in their country of origin]. The Department should co-ordinate a holistic approach to women from conflict-affected countries involving effectively the range of divisions and agencies in the Department that have a role. CSOs [civil society organisations] should be involved in assisting to document the women's experiences.

When one talks about women in conflict areas, the use on a mass scale of rape as a weapon of war across many parts of the world is something of which we are very conscious as one aspect of the impact conflict has on women.

I ask the committee to consider the national action plan review and, if possible, engage with the key agencies but also submit to the consultative process being carried out for the next national plan because there are measures that have been taken, measures that need to be taken and measures that cannot be taken. We recognise it is a work in progress.

I invite the other speakers to contribute. They are David Byrne, Department of Defence, Jayne Lawlor, Irish Defence Forces, Greg Heylin, Department of Justice and Equality, and Salome Mbugua from AkiDwA.