Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I start by wishing everyone, particularly my female colleagues, a happy International Women's Day.

Over the past ten days or so, the images reaching us of the devastation from Ukraine have been shocking and almost incomprehensible. One of the dangers for us, at this remove, is that we become inured to the violence and suffering, that the repetition and relentlessness of these images and stories simply becomes too much, that we become desensitised, that we turn away. It is important that we guard against this and that today, on International Women's Day, we continue to consider and reflect on the particular plight of Ukrainian women and their families. Today, and in the days and weeks ahead, we must not succumb to a sense of helplessness or apathy as we see images of more and more Ukrainian women fleeing their homes for sanctuary in desperate circumstances. They are often fleeing with young children or elderly relatives and often having left their partners behind to continue fighting for their country and for their freedom. We must give what support each of us can give. That may be solidarity or it may be charity. It may be prayers or it may be the offer of sanctuary. It may be a combination of all of these things, or something entirely different, but we all must do what we can.

Closer to home, I am also conscious of the need to support women here at their most vulnerable. Extensive work on the new national strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence continues ahead of it being brought to Government next month. The strategy has been developed in partnership with the sector to ensure it is targeted, comprehensive and effective in achieving all the goals set out.

Last month I updated those working in the sector and presented them with the final draft, and there has been a follow-up workshop. In parallel, a public consultation on the strategy is ongoing and will finish this Thursday. I encourage anyone who has not completed this survey to do so. The outcome of the workshop and public consultations will be used to finalise the strategy. It is a strategy that recognises that while both men and women can be victims or survivors, women, girls and children are disproportionately affected by violence. As a result, there is an emphasis on protecting and meeting the needs of women and girls. However, much work needs to be done not only to protect and help women, but also to ensure that women's voices are heard at all levels and that women are encouraged to make their voices heard.

It is obvious that we have work to do in politics to provide better supports and to tackle one of the themes of International Women's Day, which is breaking the bias. There are still many barriers to women entering politics. Just 23% of Deputies in this Dáil are women. Just four out of a total of 15 Ministers are women who hold full Cabinet positions. I know many women are interested and involved in politics but may not have the confidence to run for office, and, crucially, may not feel that the supports are there for them, be that childcare, working hours or female mentors.

To support, protect and empower women in all walks of life and at all stages of life we need to do more. To ensure every woman and girl has equal opportunities and full equality we need to do more. Until we can objectively stand here and say that no woman is left behind, we need to do more. We need to lead on the changes required to secure equality and empowerment for women. While each and every one of us on this island has a responsibility to work with us to deliver this, those of us fortunate to be where we are today must be prepared to lead. Until we have well and truly broken the bias, we all have more work to do.

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