Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, I want to extend our sincere condolences and sympathies to the Rooney family on the passing of Private Seán Rooney in Lebanon. It was incredibly sad to wake up to the news today that one of our soldiers lost his life on a peacekeeping mission. It was a life lost in the service of his country and the UN, and a reminder to all of us that all of our soldiers - the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann - who serve abroad on peacekeeping missions put their lives at risk every day that they serve. I thank Private Rooney for his service and extend our sympathies to the wider defence community, his fellow peacekeeping colleagues and those who were injured in the same attack and are still recovering. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

I wish to draw the House's attention to the report of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality that was launched earlier today. Senator Pauline O'Reilly, Doherty and Higgins and myself were all members of the committee. We worked extensively for a number of months in the committee to publish the report. It is fair to say that the response this morning in the AV room was hugely positive. Many of the members of the citizen's assembly, which made 45 recommendations that we then worked on to see how we could implement them as an Oireachtas, were there to join us. The support and the welcome for the report was huge. It was lovely, for us as members, to get that feedback.

As Members will be aware, one of the key recommendations is for a constitutional referendum to be held in 2023 on the amendment of Articles 40 and 41. Many Members and citizens will be aware of the conversations around the woman's place in the home, with particular reference to Article 41(2), but there are other key recommendations as well, including a pension system for carers; extended parental leave for the first year of a child's life for both parents; recognition of care responsibilities; and recognition of the cost associated with caring for those more vulnerable in our society. While a lot of the focus will be on the recommendation to hold a constitutional referendum to amend Articles 40 and 41, there are some other crucial and key recommendations in the report. I urge Members, in any spare time they might have, to read the report and the recommendations, in particular. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be part of that work. I look forward to working on a cross-party basis, as we did on the committee, next year to get that referendum up and running and to achieve the result that we, as a committee, have recommended.That is all I would like to say on that matter.

I want to commend a former colleague in this House, Deputy Bacik, who chaired that committee and who did tremendous work. Her legal expertise was referred to by many members of the committee at the launch this morning. As well as that, her political expertise and experience came through in keeping the group together and making sure we adhered to the tight schedule relating to our work programme. The committee was, of course, time-limited nature. I thank and commend the Deputy on her work.