Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the contributions Ireland has made towards the progress of the 3rd millennium development goal regarding gender equality, in view of the fact that evidence shows that gender inequality is a driver of poverty [36104/10]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the third of which is to promote gender equality and empower women. We recognise that achieving equality between men and women is crucial to poverty reduction, and to international development. Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty across the world, 70% are women. Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours. They produce over half of the world's food, and yet they earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property.

In recent months, Ireland made a strong contribution to the negotiation of the Outcome Document of the Millennium Development Goals Review Summit, which was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly last month. I welcome its strong affirmation that achieving gender equality and empowerment of women is both a key development goal in itself and an important means for achieving all of the other MDG. In this context, the establishment of UN Women, the new United Nations body for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, is particularly important. Ireland played an active role in the intergovernmental negotiations to establish UN Women, and I welcome the appointment of the former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, to head it up. The Government's aid programme is informed by the Irish Aid Gender Equality Policy, approved in 2004, which focuses on the achievement of gender equality as an essential component of sustainable human development. We are working in partnership with Governments in our Programme Countries, with communities and civil society organisations and with the main multilateral agencies in order to advance gender equality in developing countries.

I would cite a number of important examples from our partner countries. In Zambia, the primary school enrolment rate for girls increased to over 92% in 2008 as a result of policies implemented by the Ministry of Education with support from Irish Aid and other donors. In Sierra Leone, Irish Aid is supporting centres which help survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Since 2003, more than 6,000 women have been assisted at these centres. In Timor Leste, during the 2007 national elections, we worked with the UN to support women's electoral participation, and women now hold 30% of seats in the national parliament. As a key element in our focus on the global hunger crisis, we are also working to increase the productivity of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. 80% of farm work in the region is carried out by women. In Uganda, for instance, we have worked with the Government to ensure that the land law which is being developed protects and promotes women's access to land. As an element in Ireland's contribution to the achievement of the third MDG, a National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on Women, Peace and Security, is currently being developed, in consultation with civil society. The Resolution calls for an increase in the participation of women in peace-making and peace-building processes. It focuses on the protection of women and girls in armed conflict, and it calls for the incorporation of a gender perspective into peacekeeping and peace-building. Through the Conflict Resolution Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland has also developed an innovative cross-learning initiative on women, peace and security involving participants from Northern Ireland, Liberia and Timor-Leste.

The Government will continue to place a high priority on gender equality and women's empowerment as we work with our partners towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.