Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the announcement the Taoiseach made on International Women's Day that the Government will hold a gender equality referendum in November, and I welcome his commitment that the proposals will be published by the end of June. Can the Taoiseach confirm that the proposals for the referendum will be aligned with the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality and that the wording that we on the Joint Committee on Gender Equality agreed on a cross-party basis will be under active consideration in forming the basis for that important referendum this year?

Second, I ask the Taoiseach about recommendation 8 of our committee's report, which took up the citizens' assembly proposal that over the next decade Ireland should move to a publicly-funded, accessible and regulated model of quality and affordable early years childcare and education. We are conscious that there is a chronic shortage of childcare places and many parents are struggling to find a place. They need a State guarantee that every child will be assigned an early years education and childcare place. We recognise that the Government has taken measures to improve affordability and the cross-party report also recognised that but the lack of places available and the lack of affordability of places in childcare and early years facilities is having a detrimental impact on women and on women's workplace and employment opportunities in particular. I am asking for some clarification on the referendum and on the Government's proposals for childcare.

See this speech in context