Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their statements. There were many detailed and specific contributions.

I take the opportunity to respond to Deputy Harkin's point as I was not in the Dáil earlier. The preservation of records about Ireland's institutional past is essential. A significant step in that preservation has already been taken with the Birth Information and Tracing Act we passed last year. The major focus of that legislation was the provision of birth and early life information. To update the House, over 2,500 of some 7,000 people who made applications under the legislation have had their queries answered. There was a key provision providing for preservation of relevant information and making it a criminal offence to destroy such information. The Government has, therefore, taken a first step on preserving information.

The next key step is another part of the overall response to mother and baby home and county home institutions, namely, the establishment of the records and memorial centre. Again, important steps have been taken in this respect. The site has been transferred from the ownership of Dublin City Council to the Office of Public Works and there is an important interdepartmental group working on how we will make this a site of conscience, how we will work with the National Museum of Ireland on the record-keeping element and how it will provide an historical explanation of what happened in mother and baby homes, county homes, Magdalen laundries and industrial schools. Work is also ongoing on how the site can bring a benefit to the north inner city in the form of social housing, childcare and education. That key project is under way and will have various elements. It is my view that the records of bodies such as the McAleese committee should be protected and made available under the relevant legislation for historical study. That is where we are at. I wanted to take the opportunity to respond on that.

I highlighted earlier some of the steps we have taken on progressing gender equality. The national strategy for women and girls, which sets out various thematic high-level objectives and aims to integrate gender equality considerations into decision-making has come to a close and work is now beginning, by means of commencing consultations, on developing the successor strategy. This will very much respond to the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality.

We have made efforts to create a fairer and more equal society by ensuring that women can effectively balance their home and working lives. Parental leave will be extended from the current seven weeks to nine weeks by August 2024. Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, parents and carers will shortly have the right to request flexible working and leave for purposes of medical care and breast-feeding breaks will be extended to two years. In addition, we have tackled workplace gender inequalities by introducing reporting on the gender pay gap and an obligation on employers to propose measures to address it. This requirement will be rolled out to organisations with fewer employees over the coming years, with the aim of ensuring pay transparency is upheld in the workplace and that obstacles that stand in the path of women's active participation are removed.

Achieving gender equality in our society through the key actions I have mentioned, among others, is a key priority for this Government. I began my contribution by recognising the significance of International Women's Day for me, the Government and all members of society. Promoting equality does not stop today or at the door of my Department. It must be a priority every day for all elements of Government. At a societal level, men and boys must take action to reflect and find ways to counter discrimination and violence against women where they encounter it. We must acknowledge it exists, recognise the scale of the problem and call it out. We can never be bystanders to even the most casual forms of misogyny. It must be acknowledged we have faced more and different challenges this year. We must acknowledge the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on society, and on women in particular, as well as recognising the high incidence of violence against women both at home and internationally, especially those experiencing conflict in Ukraine - and many of those have been welcomed to our shores.

As Deputies know, in recent weeks the Cabinet approved the heads of a Bill to create a new agency specifically designed to respond to domestic violence. The agency will bring together responsibility from a range of Departments, including my own, in one core centred area. That has been a key ask of the domestic violence NGOs over the years that is being delivered by this Government, and on a tight timeline as well. It is my aim that by the time we celebrate International Women's Day 2024 we will have refreshed our vision and ambition and set priorities for Ireland to advance equality for women and girls over the next period. I again thank all Deputies for their contributions and wish them all a happy International Women's Day.

See this speech in context