Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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I am slightly surprised the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, has not stayed as he said on the airwaves that he wants to know how we cast our vote. It is utterly shocking if a Cabinet colleague does not know. In whose name and on whose authority was Ireland's vote made? As Deputy Wallace states, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. A decision has been taken to allow Saudi Arabia to sit on that body. It is a country based on male guardianship that forbids women from obtaining a passport, marrying and travelling without the approval of a male relative; if they try to do so without approval, women can end up in prison and they cannot get out without permission from the same person. In 2002, Saudi morality police blocked a rescue in a girls' school that was on fire because the girls were not wearing headscarves and black robes; 15 young women died. The Saudi Government enforces sex segregation in virtually all workplaces except hospitals and it fines businesses that do not comply. In food outlets men and women stand in separate lines and in many public buildings women are not even allowed to enter. In most places where there is segregation, women must sit down the back. As one Saudi woman has stated:

the decision to allow this oppressive regime to join a commission designed to empower women makes me feel personally violated and invisible. It is demoralising for us and sends a message that for the international community, Saudi wealth and power are more important than women's lives.

The Minister cannot hide behind a spurious precedent. This issue is outrageous and people have a right to know how Ireland voted.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am very conscious of the debate in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe about the outcome of last month's election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. I am a strong believer in the equal rights of women and support the role of the commission in addressing questions of gender equality.

As set out in our foreign policy review, The Global Island, Ireland is committed to advancing gender equality. We played a key role in the establishment of UN Women, the UN body which promotes gender equality and which provides administrative support for the Commission on the Status of Women. Ireland took up a seat on the commission at the conclusion of this year's session for a four-year period to 2021 and we will chair the annual sessions in 2018 and 2019. During its term on the commission, Ireland has pledged to work to strengthen the voice and functioning of the commission. Next year, the commission, under our leadership, will attach particular priority to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls in particular. In 2019 our priority will be to advance equality of access to public services. I want to secure agreement on these critical issues under the Irish chairmanship. To do this we will have to work closely with all UN member states and civil society to deliver the strongest possible outcome for women and girls. I also point out that Ireland has strongly supported equal opportunity across the United Nations. In this regard, the Government was very pleased that a member of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Mary Carroll, was last year appointed the first Irish woman in command of an Irish contingent in the UN Disengagement Force in the Golan Heights.

With respect to UN elections, Ireland's approach very much reflects those of other countries at the United Nations and it is an important part of how international relations are conducted. Since 1947, at the United Nations, the rules of procedure for general assembly elections provide that they are held by secret ballot. We do not publicly disclose our voting intentions or decisions. That is normal diplomatic practice and it is widely considered a fundamental aspect of the conduct of sensitive international relations. It would be very damaging to Ireland's ability to conduct international relations successfully if we were to move away unilaterally from this established practice. It would be irresponsible to abandon a practice that has been in place for over six decades, observed by all previous Governments and that is grounded on protecting and promoting the values of small countries on the world stage.

This is not a practice that is specific to Ireland or to elections for the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It relates to elections to any UN body and I am not aware of any member state which, as a matter of practice, publicly reveals how it votes. It allows for the good functioning of the United Nations, which is made up of member states of very different views and political backgrounds. There are many countries in the world with which we have important policy differences, including in the area of human rights. The United Nations provides us with an important forum to discuss these differences. Our membership and leadership of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will provide us with such an opportunity. We will take that opportunity to very good effect. Ireland's engagement on human rights at international level enables us to reaffirm our commitment to the universality, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights, to accountability for human rights violations and abuses and to the protection of those, including women and girls, who are most vulnerable and marginalised.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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The Minister will not get away with this one and his answer has been wholly unacceptable. Irish people are absolutely outraged at a country that is infamous for the subjugation of women being given a position on this body. The Minister has history in this as he told us last year that he was delighted to go to Saudi Arabia to strengthen our economic, political and cultural ties with this "key" and "priority" market. It would appear from the Minister's response that markets are more important than human rights. There was no precedent in Belgium's case, and it is a small country that was able to acknowledge how it voted. The Minister's remarks today tally with those of the Taoiseach when he spoke of this State applying "moderation" in the Gulf.

It is a matter of public record that Saudi Arabia has committed war crimes in Yemen, where it has dropped cluster bombs. Some 4 million Yemeni women and children are in a state of malnutrition. Saudi Arabia is a country in which there are public beheadings and floggings for crimes such as blasphemy or losing the faith. It funnels billions to ISIS. People have a right to know and the truth will out on this matter, sooner or later. The Minister might as well come clean. What way did Ireland vote?

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I visited Saudi Arabia and had the opportunity of meeting my counterpart. I availed of that opportunity to raise human rights issues and, in particular, the status of women, women's rights and the importance of equality in society. The United Nations at all levels, including the Security Council and the Offices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, conducts its most sensitive work in confidentiality. This is fundamental to the effective operation of an institution which we uphold and support. I believe in dialogue in the conduct of international relations. That is the reason I visited Saudi Arabia. It is fundamental to the effective operation of an institution such as the United Nations that matters of sensitivity are conducted in confidence. Indeed, it is fundamental to the operation of relations between states. Ireland does not propose to turn on its head a convention that has been in place since 1947.

Again, I acknowledge the strong support in this House for gender equality and the protection of women's rights, two matters which lie at the root of this discussion. In fact, I am a former vice chairman of the Oireachtas women's rights committee, the only man to hold such an office. I have a strong record of promoting women's rights. Ireland has a strong a record of promoting the rights of women and girls at the United Nations. It is widely accepted that ours is a leading voice in this area. As I mentioned earlier, we will chair the UN Commission on the Status of Women over the next two years. The outcomes from that commission carry considerable moral force. Reaching consensus on subjects related to gender equality empowers advocates for the human rights of women and girls globally. It gives them a voice and a tool to hold governments to account nationally on commitments made globally. In this way the commission has an important role in achieving global gender equality. Ireland will take the opportunity to forward the gender equality agenda during our term on the commission.

As she prepares to assume her role as chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, I am happy to ask our incoming ambassador to the UN in New York, Geraldine Byrne Nason, to engage with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence regarding Ireland's ongoing work at the United Nations on the specific matter of promoting the rights of women and girls.