Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I too send my solidarity to all the women of Ukraine, some of whom have fled, many of whom have remained, all fighting for their families, for their homes and for the very survival of their country. Each has shown courage, resilience and humanity that has won the support and admiration of people across the globe. Of course, the priority now has to be to stop this war, end the conflict and secure a Russian withdrawal. Our country, Ireland, must be a voice for peace, justice, demilitarisation, disarmament, freedom and democracy.

International Women's Day is a time to recognise and celebrate the achievements of women in pursuit of equality. In Ireland there has been much progress. Generations of women have stepped forward and campaigned tirelessly and relentlessly for change. These are women who have stood up to a system that sought to hold us down and to keep us in line and in our place. Is iad sin na mná atá ag obair le chéile agus ar son a chéile, atá i gcónaí chun tosaigh sa streachailt chun ár gcearta agus todhchaí níos fearr a bhaint amach. The State cannot continue to be the blockage to progressive change. That means the Government must stand up in tangible and meaningful ways. There can be no delay in implementation of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. Its members were definitive and their sense of urgency leapt off the pages of their report.

We know that the mindset that sought to subjugate women has not gone away. It lingers still in the halls of power in new forms and different expressions. The outworking of this circuitry of misogyny is the lived experience today of every girl and woman in the persistence of the gender pay gap and the feminisation of poverty. We see it also in how both the austerity era and the pandemic deepened gender inequality. We see it in the lack of ambition on the part of successive Governments to tackle areas of public policy that have an acute and disproportionate impact on women. When childcare is unaffordable, it is always women who pay the highest price for their aspirations. When social protection measures are weakened, it is always women, particularly single mothers, who have to shoulder the greatest burden. When there are failures in healthcare, it is too always the lives of women that are restricted, ruined or lost.

Of course, we see the most extreme manifestation of this in the horrendous violence and abuse perpetrated against women. Tá foréigean inscne in Éirinn ag leibhéal tubaisteach. Whether it is at the hands of strangers in public spaces or intimate partners in their own homes, women are coerced and attacked, women are raped and women are murdered. These horrific acts of violence do not just happen; they are the result of the insidious culture that normalises everyday degradation, harassment, bullying and humiliation of women and girls. To truly turn the tide on violence against women and girls, the Government must deliver the legislation, the policies and, critically, the resources and funding urgently needed. The third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence must be fully resourced and urgently implemented when it is published. Ministers and agencies must work hand in glove with existing services because that is where the solutions will lie. The crisis in provision of refuge places must be brought to an end, full stop - no excuses, no equivocation, no delay. Women and children in desperate need of an escape route out of violence do not have the luxury of waiting. They need safe haven, not just with a bed but with wrap-around services such as childcare and counselling on site. That is what real refuge is.

The women of Ireland will not be denied our futures. Tá mná agus cailíní chun tosaigh leis an athrú seo agus tá siad ag éileamh ár gcearta. I am absolutely certain that this generation of women and girls will be the generation to realise a new Ireland rooted in the equality and dignity denied to our sisters, on whose shoulders we so proudly stand today. I for one look forward on this International Women's Day with confidence, hope and optimism.

See this speech in context