UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION

WOMEN 2000: GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

STATEMENT BY

MR JOHN O'DONOGHUE, T.D.,

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND LAW REFORM

HEAD OF DELEGATION

IRELAND

6 JUNE 2000

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chair, the Commission for the Status

of Women and the Division for Advancement of Women for all their work for this

Special Session of the General Assembly.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action signalled a commitment on the part

of governments to international norms in gender equality, to the elimination of

discrimination against women and to the removal of obstacles to equality for women.

Ireland fully endorsed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The actions

agreed at Beijing are being assimilated into Irish Government policy in a manner

appropriate to Irish conditions.

legislative framework and in terms of Irish society generally. Many major, groundbreaking pieces of

rights-based legislation have been passed in Ireland in the last two years. These include the Employment

Equality Act, 1998 and the Equal Status Act, 2000. The Employment Equality Act, 1998 came into

operation on 18th October, 1999. The Act prohibits discrimination in relation to

employment on nine grounds - gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age,

disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. hat is particularly significant about this

legislation is the widening of the grounds from gender and marital status to include the other seven grounds

mentioned. We are all aware that women often face double discrimination, both on the grounds of their gender

and for other reasons such as their race or being disabled. This legislation should help to address this problem.

Perhaps even more ground breaking is the Equal Status Act, 2000 which prohibits discrimination on similar ground in employment area.It was signed into law

n April and will come into force later this year. It applies to any goods and services which are available to the

public whether payment is involved or not and irrespective of whether the service is provided by the public or

private sector.

Human rights are an essential prerequisite for gender equality and I am glad to be able to point to very

significant developments in Ireland on this issue. The Human Rights Commission Act, 2000, which provides for

the establishment of a Human Rights Commission, was signed into law last month. Furthermore, legislation is

being prepared to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into Irish law.

The unprecedented economic growth in Ireland in recent years has been the catalyst for major change in Irish

society and has had a particular impact on the role of women. The participation of women in the labour force

has risen from a relatively low level to over 47%. For those women who wish to access or return to the

workforce or who wish to avail of training or educational opportunities we are committed to supporting them

through policies such as gender mainstreaming and supports for childcare provision. We are also taking steps to

ensure that the demands which our buoyant economy is making for increased numbers in the workforce does

not result in any devaluing of the role of women who choose to work in the home. It was only in the 1970s in

Ireland that women were given a statutory right to remain in paid employment after marriage. That choice was

hard won. The choice of women to remain at home to care for their children or elders should not be lost.

Towards this end, our social security and tax policies have been used to support carers in their role through

improvements in the carers allowance scheme and the introduction of a special tax allowance for carers and

through improved pension arrangements.

In 1998, 96% of 16-year-old females and 77% of 17-year-old females were in full time education. The

comparative figures for males were 88% and 73%. Upper secondary graduation rates for women in Ireland

exceed those for men by 14 percentage points, the greatest difference of all OECD countries. However, the Irish

Government is aware that difficulties still exist in relation to female education. For example, girls are still

under-represented in technical and engineering subjects in schools and the entrance of females into engineering

degree courses is still only 17% on average, but with some institutions still as low as 2%. Some disadvantaged

women still have difficulty accessing education and training.

A review is being undertaken of the overall structures for the monitoring and implementation of present commitments in relation to gender equality. While much progress has been made it is agreed that there is still some way to go to achieve full gender equality in Irish society. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has started work on the development of a National Action Plan for Gender Equality for 2000-2005. Consultation with NGOs will be an important part of the work of developing the Action Plan.

Ireland's overseas aid development programme, Ireland Aid, has long realised that women bear the brunt of financial and social inequity. As part of the preparation of and follow up to Beijing, Ireland Aid undertook a major review of existing gender activities in its programme. This led to the adoption of formal Gender Guidelines in 1996. Ireland Aid's approach attempts to consider the impact on both women and men as an integral part of all projects, from planning to implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

The 1999 review of IrelandAid carried out by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD favourably commented on Ireland's efforts to mainstream gender into our bilateral aid programmes. In addition, Ireland, together with its EU partners, continues to monitor EU projects to ensure that they comprehensively address gender issues.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Ireland supports the Platform for Action and agrees that there should be no renegotiation of the text and actions agreed in 1995. We must build on the achievements of Beijing and adopt an outcome document that will move the agenda forward in practical ways and ensure that genuine equality becomes a fact of life for women and men throughout the world.

I wish you every success in the remaining days of this Special Session.

Thank you.