Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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525. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on the development, timelines and key features of the successor to the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 and when will it be published. [53558/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department leads on cross-government policy to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The Programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, commits the Department to publish and implement an updated National Strategy for Women and Girls. The Department is currently working to fulfil that commitment. A stakeholder consultation was completed at the end of 2024. This included a series of in-person consultations with representations from across civil society as well as an online survey which included both civil society organisations and members of the public.

Additionally, in September 2024 the first National Youth Assembly on Gender Equality was convened to attain the views of young people on priorities for inclusion in the new strategy. This assembly was specifically designed to provide young people with an opportunity to discuss how gender inequality affects their lives, explore solutions, and make recommendations that could be integrated into national policy.

An engagement event was hosted in March 2025 by the Department with the support of the National Women's Council to both mark International Women's Day and to provide an update to stakeholders. The findings from the stakeholder consultation and National Youth Assembly event were discussed followed by a prioritisation exercise to help identify potential gaps in the findings and areas for further consideration.

An Interdepartmental Strategy Committee has been formed to oversee the development and implementation of the Strategy. This Committee has been meeting regularly over the past several weeks to further develop strategic actions and ensure the Strategy is underpinned by a whole-of-Government approach.

The Strategy is currently at an advanced draft stage and is anticipated to be completed and published in Q4 of 2025.