Vol. 407 No. 9
14 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if the Government accept the interim recommendations of the Second Commission on the Status of Women; if so, the steps which are being taken to implement the programme; if any time-table has been set for its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
15 Mrs. Fennell asked the Taoiseach if it is intended to implement forthwith recommendation No. 2 of the interim report from the Commission on the Status of Women and ensure that all memoranda for Government set out the impact on women of all policy changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
16 Mrs. Fennell asked the Taoiseach the way he intends to implement recommendation No. 4 of the Commission on the Status of Women and ensure that no national lottery funding will go to clubs which discriminate against women.
17 Mrs. Fennell asked the Taoiseach when he intends to end the age barrier to recruitment to the public sector as contained in recommendation No. 6 of the interim report from the Commission on the Status of Women.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 together. The Government welcome the first statement of the Commission on the Status of Women and I have already announced publicly the decision of the Government to accept fully in principle the recommendations in the first statement. Steps have already been taken to implement the recommendations.
The age barrier on recruitment has already been raised for appropriate competitions to 50. All Ministers have been instructed to include in their memoranda to Government the probable impact, if any, on women of measures proposed; to work progressively towards the criteria recommended by the commission in appointments to State boards; and to ensure that national lottery funding will not go to private clubs which do not give women the right to apply for full membership.
Arrangements are being made to appoint a woman to the Top Level Appointments Committee. The Minister for Education is intent on ensuring that the primary curriculum is reviewed to exclude all sexism and sex-stereotyping.
Legislation is in preparation to provide for joint ownership of the family home and household chattels but the outcome of a case before the Supreme Court must be awaited before the new legislation can be finally drafted. I am sure the Deputies will agree — as was acknowledged by the commission — that this is a very positive response by the Government to the recommendations made by the commission.
I welcome the Taoiseach's positive response to the statement today in relation to the recommendations made by the commission. Is the Taoiseach taking any steps to rectify the position with regard to State-sponsored bodies 69 of which, I understand, have no women at all involved in them, out of the 200 agencies that exist? Will he indicate if there are any vacancies at the moment on any of those 69 boards which do not have women and can he indicate what procedures are in place to try to fill such vacancies with suitably qualified women?
The first thing is to accept the principle that we should have representation of women at the highest level possible on those State polls. The first statement of the Commission on the Status of Women has put forward suggestions in that regard. It must be a gradual process. We have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis as vacancies arise and try to make sure we find suitably qualified women to fill these vacancies. That is the policy of the Government.
I call Deputy Fennell who has a number of questions tabled on this subject.
Does the Taoiseach agree that we should commend the commission for bringing forward so quickly seven recommendations which would not entail a cost to the Exchequer? I commend the Taoiseach for giving a positive response but may I ask him if he sees a need to give a specific Minister responsibility to implement these recommendations? May I further ask him, with regard to the recommendation relating to lottery funding for clubs, what instructions have been given to the Department of the Environment and to the local authorities in relation to requests for funding from clubs which may be discriminating against women? Are instructions going to be issued now to the local authorities?
It is not so much a question for the local authorities; it is a question for Ministers, of one kind or another.
With regard to amenity funding——
Only £4 million goes to amenity projects and they are spread throughout the country. That would not have a very important bearing on the issue. The person really responsible would be the Minister for Education and the Minister of State at the Department of Education who disposes of very considerable funds to sporting organisations and clubs. That is where we must implement this principle.
I welcome the Taoiseach's reiteration, in reply to Question No. 16, that lottery funding will not be available for clubs which discriminate against women. May I ask the Taoiseach if he himself is a member of any club which does not grant membership to women?
May I ask the Deputy is he?
The Taoiseach is on that side of the House and he has to answer the question.
As far as I know, I am not. I hope I am not.
Will the Taoiseach indicate the stage at which the legislation relating to beneficial ownership for spouses is now at? Is it ready and simply awaiting the outcome of the court appeal? May I also ask him if the commission's recommendation relating to the primary school curriculum handbook — they recommended that it should be reviewed and that sexism and stereo-typing should be removed — has been taken on board? The Taoiseach indicated the Minister for Education is anxious to remove this kind of sexism from the school curriculum but is the handbook going to be dealt with?
That little handbook might self-destruct very quickly if nothing else is done about it. It is to be dealt with. The finalisation of the other legislation awaits the Supreme Court decision.
With regard to question No. 17, I put down a question to the Minister for Finance relating to the age barrier and he has informed me in reply that he is taking steps in accordance with the commitments entered into in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress but difficulties are still being encountered in the local authorities. As the Taoiseach is flanked by the Minister for the Environment, can we be given any indication that the age barrier is going to be removed with regard to local authority appointments?
That question should be addressed to the Minister for the Environment on some suitable occasion. I see he has quite a few questions to answer today but I suspect they are directed at other issues rather than that but I will consider that aspect of it.
Let us now come to deal with questions nominated for priority. Need I say, I am anxious to have the five questions disposed of within the time limit laid down.
