Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the presence of the Deputies who stayed for the duration of the debate. No one in the House should have to apologise for being male or female. It is regrettable that when the issue of gender is discussed, whether in this forum or elsewhere, we almost drift into having to apologise for being male rather than advocating, which is our role, for the position of men and women, women and men. I do not view myself as a Deputy for men or as a male Deputy. I am a Deputy and I take my responsibilities in this regard very seriously, as I am sure do the other Deputies.

I know Deputy Burton is not present now, but reference was made a while ago to the timing of the debate, which is regrettable because it was certainly worthy of a greater level of scrutiny, consideration and debate in the House. Deputy Burton said many female Deputies are probably at home with their families. That is fine, but the rest of us have families too, and credit must go to those of us who have been here this evening to provide our input into this.

Deputy Burton referred to the budget of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. It is worth putting on the record that the weekly rate payable to families in receipt of social welfare payments for a qualified child has increased by €2.20 per week for children under 12 and by €5.20 per week for children aged 12 and over. There will also be a €20 increase to the income disregard for one-parent families on the jobseeker's transitional payment, which was not referred to. The back to school clothing and footwear allowance is being increased by €25 per child, up to €150 for those aged four to 11 and €275 for those aged 12 to 22. There is also an allocation of €146 million for emergency accommodation. In addition, there is in excess of €1.5 billion in the 2019 budget for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and the introduction of the affordable childcare scheme continues. In addition, the income thresholds and multiple child deduction under the new scheme are to be adjusted to approve supports for additional parents who qualify. It is not fair, therefore, to say that the budget that has been introduced under confidence and supply does not have a family element to it or that it does not have regard to the importance and centrality of children in society. That is not the case.

I compliment Deputy Lahart, in his role as Vice Chairman, on the report. I know the Chairman is not here but I congratulate both Deputies for their level of engagement. It is fair to say that in recent years there have been a number of reforms led by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the first instance, not only in the area of budgetary layout and engagement with the committee but in a great many other areas. We are on target to have the number of women on our State boards at around the 40% mark. Many of these elements of reform are very positive and I think they are improving the position vis-à-visgender equality. While Deputies Broughan and Boyd Barrett may differ with the Government on an awful lot of our economic philosophy, I agree with them that there is no difference between all our wishes that we might see a greater level of engagement with the committee in terms of oversight, scrutiny and pre-budgetary appraisal. We must also ensure we are able as a Government and an Oireachtas to reach out to the greatest number of people we can, male and female, through our expenditure, our tax regime and our governance.

I entirely agree with some of the points Deputy Breathnach made about education. I was a primary school teacher myself and I know that many of my former contemporaries are female, but there are a growing number of males. A continual impetus needs to be placed on this to ensure a greater number of younger men going into that profession. In a previous Department I suggested and attempted to introduce a mechanism to improve the position of women in sport. This has not advanced, which is very regrettable because we need to see a greater number of leadership roles for women, not just in politics but in areas into which Government expenditure reaches. This is not the case at present. An opportunity was missed but it continues to exist.

As for the overall context of the recommendations of the report, in the brief amount of time I have left I would like, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to comment on some of them, such as an equality budgeting statement alongside the budget statement, to which all speakers referred. The approach taken to the equality budget is anchored in the existing performance budgeting and is part of a whole-year budgetary approach. It is not just a matter, therefore, of the day itself. I know there is a lot of focus on the day itself, even though the budget is nowadays out nearly three or four weeks in advance in many cases. Many elements that are crucial to good equality or gender budgeting are equally good for budgeting itself and policy formulation as a whole. This is the case for clear, multidimensional budgetary impact analysis and for evaluation frameworks that feed directly into the policy and budget cycle. I think it was Deputy Boyd Barrett who said we are able to produce tables showing how the budget impacts people in different cohorts and economic strata. As we get more and more information from the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs, Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and Education and Skills, and as the committee continues its work, we will organically see the reach of the budget into what it is we want to try to achieve, which is to ensure that the boat is lifted for males and females.

The reporting of relevant targets and indicators aims to enhance the transparency surrounding the progress made through achieving equality objectives. The work on equality budgeting will continue to complement existing structures which consider the impacts of budgetary measures such as the SWITCH model and social impact assessments. Work is also under way to address the data issues. A representative from the Central Statistics Office sits on the advisory group and work has begun to map priorities from strategies such as the national strategy for women and girls onto gender equality and budgeting.

The Department officials have taken note of the issues that have been raised. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is very anxious to continue the dialogue with the members of the committee. I compliment the committee on the work it has done on this element and, more broadly, on the production of the budget. I hope we move away from the set-piece day to having a greater level of input from Members of the Oireachtas, who ultimately have the responsibility for voting through the budget under its different headings.

I will finish where I started. It is noteworthy that four of the Deputies who spoke are still here. None of us should have to apologise for being male, no more than anyone should have to apologise for being female.

I think an awful lot of progress is being made. The work the committee has done in that regard is very welcome. On behalf of the Government, I thank the committee for the work it has done. I look forward to its continued engagement in the coming months.

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