Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about this Bill. It is very important because for far too long women have been treated unfairly. The further back we go, the worse it was for women. It is only right that where women are doing the same work as men, they should be paid the same. That inequality has existed for far too long, and I am glad to have the opportunity to support the Labour Party for bringing forward this Bill.

We must recognise that women have played a very important role in all our lives. We would not be here if it were not for women. In the past, women worked inside and outside the home. They kept the home going but were hardly ever remunerated. My grandmother's husband was invalided from early in their marriage.

She had to work outside and do all the work to cut turf for sale. I am so agitated when I hear people suggesting people should not cut turf because I know what she and that generation went through to survive. It must be recognised and made possible that women be paid the same as men. There are many inequalities in our system, even now. Young teachers are not paid the same as teachers used to be or as teachers who work alongside them and were qualified earlier. It is wrong, degrading and frustrating for young teachers who spend five or six years in college but end up working for much less than people who entered the workforce before them.

Likewise, nurses on the front line do vital work. It is no wonder that many of our young graduates emigrate and take up employment in other countries because it is not fair or right that nurses are not remunerated for the hard work they do in caring for sick people to the same degree as the people who entered the workforce before them. They must work so much harder because of all the paperwork, liability and pressure that is put on them. They must work long hours and it is not right that they are not paid the same as the other nurses.

I am sorry to say that the Labour Party played a role in this issue by what it did to women in the home whose pension entitlement was changed. We are only now starting to address that but it was wrong and unfortunate. I met so many women who were not going to receive the same pension and they were so hurt because they felt they had paid their contributions but, as the playing pitch was changed, they would not get the same pension that other women received, and would continue to receive, alongside them. As these women came of pension age in only 2012, they were subject to the new regulation and it hurt them badly. I am glad this matter will start to be addressed in the coming year.

As I said at the outset, women, whether they be wives, daughters or mothers, play such an important part in the running of our country and homes. We must ensure that they are treated the same and that they receive the same remuneration for the same work as men. It is great that the Bill acknowledges the great work that women and girls around the country do on behalf of men and their country. They are as proud of our country as anyone else and they have played such an important role, not least in past times of trouble when they cared for men. Circumstances must change and we must move on and ensure women are treated properly. I am 100% in support of the Bill and I hope it is brought to a conclusion as soon as possible. This situation has gone on for too long and it needs to be corrected.

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