Ms Sorcha Eastwood:

I thank Ms DeSouza and Ms Smyth for their contributions. This is a very timely session. At the minute, women, not just in the North but on the island of Ireland, are living through incredibly dangerous times. We can all do much more on an all-island basis to address some of the critical issues people have raised, whether that is taking up more space in the public square or looking at some of the societal barriers. The societal barriers do not stop women from coming forward. I have never come across women who did not want to have their voices heard, but I have come across societal barriers that make it much more difficult for women and other groups in our society to be heard.

One of the key things for me - I do not want to pre-empt some of the stuff that may come through the health stream - is the issue of the third shift, where we talk about women having to take on more responsibilities, whether that is in the home, caring for other family members or whatever it may be. From my perspective, we are not doing enough to break down enough of those barriers to enable more fluid and flexible ways of enabling women to be more fully heard. I am thinking in terms of carer's leave and flexible working. These are very practical things that will make a huge difference in women's lives. I obviously take my seat in Westminster and one of the Adjournment debates we heard recently was about the issue of special educational needs. Obviously that impacts everybody in the family, not just women, but often it is predominantly the woman, mummy, step-mum, carer, guardian or whoever it may be who will often have to become the advocate for their child or whoever it is they are caring for. In a way, I believe there is scope for much more to be done on an all-island basis whenever it comes to addressing those issues that so often predominantly and disproportionately have an impact on women.

I am very interested to hear what Ms DeSouza thinks about how the all-island approach is working for women in the North. Does she have any views on that?