I am conscious, as I think we all are, that this is the Tánaiste's last Leaders' Questions in his current role. I want to bring to his attention the publication just this morning of the final report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality, which I had the honour of chairing. Our report is entitled Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality. What we have set out to do in this report is devise an action plan for the implementation of the 45 recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, which amount to a blueprint for achieving a truly gender-equal Ireland. At the launch this morning, we saw the audiovisual room packed with stakeholders, civil society groups, academics and many of those who engaged with us and indeed many members of the citizen's assembly. I expressed our thanks as a committee to the assembly, to Dr. Catherine Day who chaired the assembly and to all the stakeholders who engaged with us.

What we heard from those present was a real desire to see the report implemented, to see the actions we recommended taken up by the Government and progressed over the coming term. There are some clear measures there that need to be acted upon urgently.

I am seeking from the Tánaiste and his Government a commitment on recommendations 1 to 3 of the citizens' assembly. Those recommendations relate to constitutional change, both to the equality guarantee in Article 40.1 of the Constitution, to make it more inclusive and refer specifically to gender equality, and crucial changes to Article 41 of the Constitution, that is, the family article. The citizens' assembly asked us to do three things with Article 41, namely, take out the gendered language that currently refers to women and mothers as having lives and duties within the home; create a more inclusive definition and protection for care within the Constitution; and extend the definition of family beyond the current narrow definition based on marriage.

In our work, hearings and deliberations, the committee devised a single set of wording to be put to the people by way of referendum that would achieve the desires of the Citizens' Assembly and create a more inclusive and more equal document. It is probably the first time an Oireachtas committee has devised wording for the Constitution. We were able to do so through the extensive consultation and engagement we have had, particularly with the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and other Ministers, including the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, on the idea of a constitutional referendum. We are all very conscious that there has been a number of false starts on this referendum. There have been previous attempts to delete the gendered or sexist language from the text but they have come to nothing because there has not been a cross-party or cross-civil society consensus on this. We have come a long way towards achieving that. Will the Government commit to holding a referendum on those three recommendations in 2023, as all members of our committee have asked?

I very much look forward to reading the report over the recess and will do that. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak before the committee some weeks ago. I recognise Deputy Bacik's work as Chairperson, and all the members of the committee for the work they did. Politicians and parliamentarians often do not get credit for the kind of work that gets done in committees but it is often the work that is most valuable, rather than what happens here in the Chamber. It was in my previous role that the decision was made to establish a citizens' assembly on gender. That was decided weeks after the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, as the next important step in advancing equality between men and women. It has taken quite some time to get to this point, to have the assembly and have the Oireachtas committee do its work and make its report.

I can certainly give the Deputy a commitment that responding to the report will be on the agenda of the Government in 2023. We will respond to the recommendations in a structured way and in early course. I am in favour of constitutional change to provide a modern definition of family in our Constitution and to remove gendered language. It is extremely useful to have this report because referendums are easy to lose and often hard to win. The fact that we have cross-party wording is very helpful in that regard. I cannot make a commitment today on a referendum next year. It is something that will have to be discussed with the new Cabinet and the new Attorney General. However, I can give the commitment that this is work I really want to make progress on and follow through on. While I do not agree with every recommendation, the citizens' assembly did a great body of work that points to the way forward. The committee built on that and we want to ensure we move this agenda forward next year. I will certainly commit to a structured and meaningful response to all the recommendations in early course.

I thank the Tánaiste for his undertaking to give a structured response. That is very welcome. I again thank my colleagues on the committee who engaged so constructively and intensively in the work we carried out. There was an immense range of issues that we had to cover in a short timeframe. We had a superb secretariat working with us on that and I thank them as well. I am also conscious that we will have the opportunity to debate the report in both the Dáil and the Seanad in the new year. I reiterate that we have done a very signifiacant amount of work to achieve a singular set of wording that could be put to the people by way of referendum and that we believe has moved us on in respect of that pathway to holding a referendum on this. I understand the Government will want to ensure there is a clear consensual basis for moving forward with that referendum but I think our engagement has provided a good pathway on that. We also produced an interim report on this in July. We engaged with stakeholders since that report was published and that is what has led us to this clear recommendation for constitutional change. I again urge the Tánaiste to take up that challenge and ensure that referendum is held within the next 12 months.

We will take up that challenge. Just in the past few months, we have introduced legislation around the gender pay gap and we are seeing that come into effect now. That will help us understand better what the gender pay gap is in businesses and organisations and how it can be closed. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is bringing legislation through at the moment on work-life balance, which will benefit men and women but will benefit women in particular. In addition, there will be a significant reduction in childcare costs in the new year, which will benefit families but will benefit women in particular and will help more women get back to the workplace sooner if they want to. This Government has a good record in advancing this agenda. The same applies to the representation of women on company boards, where we have gone from 15% to over 30% and are aiming for parity. This is an issue the Government will want to pursue in 2023 and 2024. We will certainly give early consideration to the recommendations. It will hopefully be possible to have a referendum next year but I do not want to make that firm commitment without consulting with the Government and the new Attorney General, once he or she takes office.