Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The 45 recommendations shine a light on the key issues hampering women's full and free access to and participation in all areas of our economy and society. This should not be so prevalent in 2021. We have a long way to go yet. We know that Covid-19 disproportionately impacted women and, unfortunately, that still is the case. We know too about the feminisation of poverty. We have heard that we are on the verge of another recessionary chapter in Ireland. We know the risk of shecession, that women earn less than men and, in terms of the gender pay gap, that Ireland ranks 18th among the EU 27 member states. Worse than that, we have a 40% gender pension gap in this State. Enough is enough. Our women have suffered and they have been punished enough. The recommendations to resolve these discrepancies must be heeded by Cabinet in the interests of fairness, equality and in the interests of having a decent society of which we can all be proud.

I stand here today as a young woman whose journey to this very House was not the typical route by any standards. Some have called it the leap from the dole to the Dáil. I am still in the maternity stage of my life, by which I mean my children are not fully reared and mothering is still very much a part of my every day life. Through my experience and my work I am aware of the attitudinal barriers faced by young women, disadvantaged women, lone parent mothers, disabled women, Traveller women and refugee women, in terms of being fully valued and recognised in society.

Childcare, adequate supports for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, maternity leave for all elected representatives, State recognition of care work, closure of the gender pay gap and gender quotas, to name but a few, are the very issues that unless progressed allow for gender inequality to persist. Many are areas on which Sinn Féin has been leading the way for years now, which, in part, is the reason I am so proud to be a representative for Sinn Féin. In terms of representation, one more female Deputy was returned in general election 2020. That pace of change is far too slow. Sinn Féin supports the call for gender quotas and it believes that they should be incrementally increased towards 50%. Fair is fair and equality is equality.

An area where there are barriers to full and meaningful participation in politics is that of maternity leave for Oireachtas Members on a legislative footing. If there is a genuine political will to ensure a full and meaningful participation in Parliament barriers need to be removed. The lack of explicit provision of support for a pregnant woman or new mother essentially excludes that women from holding office or putting herself forward. Until such time as we have such provisions and a Parliament that is fully representative of our diverse society, people will, unfortunately, remain unrepresented.

To speak on gender equality is important for me. I hope the Cabinet will heed the 45 priority recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, which are critical if we are to give real substance to the phrase "gender equality". Sinn Féin has been paving the way in terms of many of these recommendations. As mentioned by my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, as of this week more than 50% of Sinn Féin MLAs in the North are female. That is what equality looks like. I welcome the expertise and comprehensive research represented in these recommendations and I compel and urge the Government to prioritise their implementation.

See this speech in context