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

I welcome the Taoiseach’s commitment to hold the gender equality referendum in November. As the Taoiseach said, this is the referendum which was recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality and also recommended by our own special committee on gender equality which I had the honour of chairing. As the Taoiseach knows, in our report from December, Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality, we recommended specific text for putting to the people by way of referendum to amend Articles 40 and 41 of the Constitution. The Taoiseach has pointed out that an interdepartmental group was established in March. Can the Taoiseach give the House a timeline on when the group is likely to recommend a final wording? Is this group actively considering the cross-party wording which we proposed? Also, are we likely to see a housing referendum held at the same time? I think the Taoiseach said that no decision has yet been made but I ask for some urgency in working on these proposals, particularly given that we have already seen a cross-party wording put forward by our special committee.

I welcome this commitment from the Taoiseach and I also specifically ask if he is committing to hold the referendum in respect of all three recommendations of the citizens’ assembly and of our own committee relating to both Articles 40 and 41.

On a related electoral matter, can the Taoiseach confirm whether the Irish Government has expressed a preference at EU level for the proposed date for European Parliament elections next year?

I understand 23 to 26 May would fit with when we have traditionally held such elections alongside our local elections but that 6 to 9 June is like to be the preferred outcome at European level. If the European Parliament elections are scheduled for that June period, will our local elections be held simultaneously or has a Government decision been made on that?

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