Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today is our day for women to celebrate and mark time in our struggle for equality and remind ourselves of the importance of international solidarity. On International Women's Day, I express my solidarity with the women of Ukraine, Palestine, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, and with all women who are struggling at the moment. We know and are in contact with them and we know what they are suffering. We need to acknowledge that, globally, there are women struggling and their fight and struggle should not be forgotten today.

I raise an important workers' rights issue that directly impacts women on a number of levels. Yesterday, I met with Emma Reidy and the team in Aoibhneas in Swords. I know from the number of referrals I make to them from both of my offices and from talking to them that they are overstretched. They provide a lifeline for women and children in Swords, Fingal and the surrounding areas. It has been over a decade since they had a pay rise. In that time, landlords have had plenty of pay rises, the cost of living has skyrocketed and the managers of services are struggling to hold on to workers who have built up relationships with the women they are working with but who cannot afford to live in Dublin anymore.

There is a clear need for a joint labour committee, JLC, or other wage-setting mechanism for this important group of workers. We need them in Swords, Fingal and throughout the State. We would be lost without them. Aoibhneas, like other shelters and refuges, is struggling to hold on to staff. The cost of heating and lighting the refuges has also risen, with no consequent rise in the level of support. Where is the money supposed to come from to keep the lights on and the vital services running? The Ministers will know that if there are no workers, there is no service. They are struggling to hold on to the workers.

The sector was told to professionalise itself in 2007 and did so. Workers upskilled but have never received professional wages to go with the professional job they do. Those working in the sector recognise they need to be able to offer decent wages to be able to retain staff and deliver vital services, but they cannot do that unless the Government recognises there has to be an increase in the supports they are given. It is not that long since we all stood in this Chamber and collectively said "Never again", but unless we recognise that we have to reward properly the workers providing services to get women to safety and keep women safe, we cannot say "Never again" with any credibility.

See this speech in context