Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the NWCI, as well as Senator Higgins, who is in the Public Gallery.

Can the witnesses speak to us about the steering group and tell us what is their understanding of the role that group will have? Have terms of reference been discussed? Will that group be up and running ahead of budget 2019?

We discussed many of the concerns of the witnesses with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform last week. It spoke about six pilot projects, and I believe the committee agreed that those pilots were quite underwhelming, to be diplomatic about it, in terms of the potential impact on gender equality. The witnesses have also suggested that here. In terms of the early stages of our roll-out of gender budgeting versus Scotland or Israel, the two examples mentioned, are we more or less ambitious? How do we compare in terms of the roll-out?

Has the NWCI sought to meet the Parliamentary Budget Office to discuss those issues?

What would the witnesses like to see in budget 2019? We are at the end of February now. What kind of measures would the witnesses like to see in terms of gender budgeting between now and budget 2019?