Gender Equality Committee Launches Interim Report on Constitutional Change

Gendereqaulity
Gendereqaulity

I was delighted as a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality to attend the launch of our interim report on constitutional change today. The interim report calls for a referendum to remove the 'women in the home' clause from the Constitution and replace it with a recognition of the role and importance of care in society. The report also calls for constitutional recognition and protection of the different family types in society. Since entering the Seanad, valuing and recognising the role and importance of care in society has been a key priority and this report reflects the recommendations of the Citizen's Assembly on Gender Equality and the pressing need for constitutional change.

You can find a copy of the interim report here: Interim Report on Amendments to the Constitution (oireachtas.ie)

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Government needs to act on concerns on Higher Education Authority Bill

The Higher Education Authority Bill will have a major impact on staff, students & society. I proposed over 100 amendments. Following strong criticism of use of guillotine at Committee stage, Report stage has been adjourned, meaning there is still chance to improve crucial aspects of Bill.

One of the key issues I raised was the importance of trade union representation from both professional & academic staff on governance boards as well as proper national strategies to challenge the serious problem of precarious low paid work within academia.

The proposed definition of student union in the Bill is not fit for purpose & based around recognition from Minister or governing authority rather then electoral mandate from students. Students union representatives from right across country have made it clear this needs to be fixed!

The Bill will give huge amount of power & discretion to Minister, including requirement for higher education institutions to comply with future policy docs of Government. Bill must be amended to ensure appropriate independence, transparency & autonomy for both HEA & individual institutions.

Another core aspect we sought to address was embedding equality, equity, access and participation into the legislation and creating legal requirements that both HEA & individual institutions policies are furthering & empowering access to & equity in our higher education system.

The Bill continues the practice of focusing entirely on private research & not looking to public/blue skies research or public-public partnerships for research. To address issues like climate, inequality and sustainable development we need a robust public research system

The references to sustainability & environment in the Bill are woefully outdated & inadequate, coming from a 1987 pre-Rio definition of “environmental development”. I sought to include the definition based on the SDGs with acknowledgement of historical responsibility & climate justice.

Following pressure from Senators, the debate has adjourned till September & there is time for Minister Harris to work constructively with us as legislators & with stakeholders to address these & other issues. The HEA Bill will underpin higher education for years to come, we need to get it right!


Newsletter August 2023

Dear Friends,

Welcome to my latest newsletter. Through my work in recent months, I have sought to place social and environmental care at the heart of political decision making.

I have introduced new legislation to replace the current narrow commercial mandates of both Coillte and Bord na Móna with a mandate for nature. I have pushed for progressive change which delivers a just and sustainable transition in areas including cultural and archaeological heritage, energy and economic policy and gender equality. I have continued to champion decent work and successfully brought a motion to the Seanad on precarious work in higher education.