Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

International Women’s Day is about celebrating achievement – the achievements of women who are scientists, artists, sportswomen as well as healthcare professionals, caregivers and parents. Every role is important in this year of pandemic. The pandemic has brought much suffering, hurt and fear and a terrifying amount of domestic violence. There was an increase of 26% in reported cases of domestic violence in west Cork and a 35% increase in calls to the west Cork women against domestic violence service. Safe Ireland has called this the "shadow pandemic". We knew this was coming. It continues, but why?

There is currently an advertisement on television showing a ladies football team playing a match on an uphill pitch. It does its job. It makes us imagine what it must feel like for those players to be constantly up against it, to have the odds stacked against them and to keep pushing for equality anyway.

It has been a long time since I togged out for Ilen Rovers but it helps to remember that feeling. It helps us to imagine ourselves in those women’s football boots, playing with the odds stacked against us, playing in the shadows.

I want Members to imagine something else for a second. Imagine walking into a bathroom in a public place and being delighted to see toilet paper. Imagine standing at the sink, washing your hands, and thinking to yourself: "Well now, wasn’t that a lovely thing to do, to provide free toilet paper. What a thoughtful gesture." This sounds ridiculous, yet that is exactly how it feels to come across free sanitary products in a public bathroom. I could count on one hand the times it has happened to me. Why do we see toilet paper as a basic necessity but not tampons?

I got my first period on a school tour in primary school. There was no chance I was going to ask my teacher for sanitary products. It was the stigma and I would not have known how. So, like many girls before me and since, I had to resort to toilet paper. Studies by Plan International and the Anytime of the Month initiative show that many women find it incredibly hard to pay for sanitary products. This means they end up wearing pads or tampons longer than is comfortable or hygienic. It means that those in disadvantage, homelessness or direct provision must resort to stuffing their underwear with toilet paper. How is this acceptable?

Scotland has become the first country in the world to make period products free for all. Similar legislation is being introduced here by Senator Rebecca Moynihan and we need to make sure it happens to make period products available in all schools, colleges and in every public service building. They should be provided to NGOs and community groups, too. This may seem revolutionary but it is not. It is a basic requirement. Period products are just as necessary as toilet paper. Let us take period products out of the shadows.

Now I want Members to imagine turning on Irish radio and flicking through the stations. I want Members to imagine that they are five times more likely to hear an Irish female artist than an Irish male artist on Irish radio. This sounds ridiculous and downright unfair. It sounds like someone needs to do something about that. Of course the reality is that it is the exact opposite. We are more than five times more likely to hear an Irish male artist than an Irish female artist on Irish radio. On streaming and downloading services these musicians hold their own but when it comes to radio airplay talented Irish women artists are not given the chance to be heard. When similar research was conducted in the UK, stations changed their practices and confronted their bias. Some Irish radio stations have begun to consciously support Irish women artists and we need the rest to follow. We need the industry and the Government to work together to give these talented artists airplay. Let us bring these brilliant Irish recording artists out of the shadows.

The "Level the Playing Field" ladies football advertisement is so effective because it makes the inequality visible. It helps us to see the situation from the players' point of view and maybe from a different angle than we are used to. None of this is about pitching women against men, but to show that these shadows are real. When we see bias, unfairness and the odds stacked against women we need to act. The shadows will linger for as long as we let them. Let us level that playing field. Let us cast away the shadows. Let us act.

As Deputy Funchion has said, it is also important to note that this year we have our first female Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and that finally the Seanad Standing Orders will recognise the existence of women who sit as the chairperson. I am a new member of the Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform. I looked through the Standing Orders and it transpired that "Chairman" was in the Standing Orders 137 times, "Chairperson" was in the Standing Orders twice, and "Chairwoman" was in the Standing Orders zero times. I thank the Ceann Comhairle who chairs the Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform. At this week's meeting we saw the newly published Standing Orders that acknowledges women sitting in Chairs, which will be brought to the Dáil soon.

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