Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I noticed when looking at the calendar that we would be discussing the report on gender equality on 29 February, the extra day in the leap year when a woman generally had the gender-equality option of proposing to her man. We have come a long way but we have a long way to go for ourselves, our sisters and our daughters, and indeed their daughters. We will not and must never stop in our push for gender equality.

I am reminded of the great Irishwomen in our history who sought to represent Irish women and girls at the founding of this incomplete Republic. I am thinking of my paternal grandmother, Madge Moynihan, and my maternal grand-aunt, "Babs" Walsh, both of whom were members of Cumann na mBan. I always think of them when I wear my Cumann na mBan brooch.

When the counter-revolutionaries had taken over and the declared and promised Republic was partitioned, and when their work was considered done, women were told they could go home like good girls and put on the dinner and that the lads would look after everything from then on. However, what was simmering in their kitchen saucepans was nothing like the desire that simmered in their hearts for the promised Republic declared in 1916, so eloquently expressed in our Proclamation. I refer to a republic that was to guarantee civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens and to its unashamed aspiration for the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation. That unfinished Republic, that unfinished democracy, is part of the history that goes before all of us here today.

The report of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality represents the conclusion of the committee's consideration of the findings of the citizens' assembly. I was delighted when I was appointed to it along with my party comrades Teachta Sorca Clarke, who could not be here today, and Senator Fintan Warfield. We, along with the other members, worked well together on the committee under the chairpersonship of Teachta Bacik. It was a really positive experience and we were a good example of how to work for a common cause beyond party politics.

The committee made 45 recommendations. It was the committee's stated intention that the report would act as a blueprint for the achievement of gender equality. We had 23 public meetings and received over 60 written submissions, evidence from which forms the basis for the report placed before the Dáil last December. Prior to the publication of the committee report, Sinn Féin had called for the Taoiseach to commit to delivering on the recommendations of the citizens' assembly. Sinn Féin wanted to see the full delivery of the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and those contained within the committee report. Recommendations include the holding of a referendum to amend the Constitution to give full recognition to the societal and economic value of care work, policies and investments that would provide equality of opportunity for women and girls with disabilities and the elimination of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

The action plan in the report is focused on the need for improved legislation and regulation and for the establishment of public services and social protection modelled to advance gender equality. It is disappointing that the Government's wording for the referendum ignores the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and the gender equality committee on the issue of care. The wording put forward by the citizens' assembly was carefully chosen. It was designed to enshrine recognition of the value of care within the text of the Constitution. The wording chosen by the Government in this referendum represents a missed opportunity. So far, the Government has failed to offer an adequate explanation for it.

The Government spent years prevaricating despite promises to hold the referendums. Then, when it did take a decision to hold them, it was seen to be rushing the process. My party and I believe the wording offered by the Government lacks ambition and the ability to deliver the real and meaningful change carers require. My party and I believe this referendum needs to act as a catalyst for meaningful change. Notwithstanding this, Sinn Féin has carefully considered the referendums. We are calling for a "Yes" vote in both – "Yes" to equality and "Yes" to fairness. The wording is not what we wanted but it is a small step in the right direction.

Terms and conditions for those in community care work remain inadequate. So too are the social protection provisions for carers. None of these reflects the innate value of this work to our economy and society. Sinn Féin wants to see big changes in this area. We want better wages, better working conditions and genuine opportunities to progress across the caring professions.

In addition, we are adamant that the Department of Social Protection should bring rates for carers into line with an essential minimum standard of living, with no ifs and no buts. If carers stopped working in the morning, society and our economy would grind to a halt. Carers care out of love, which is their strength, but it is also their weakness. They will not down tools, and the State knows they will not because of their love for the people they care for. This is a Catch-22 in the very difficult and very tired lives of carers, most of whom are women. Many are ageing and bear their caring in their bodies, with bad backs, necks and hands and often other injuries. That is before we mention their stress and worry about what will happen to their beloved if they, the carers, die.

To me, the State is not meeting its obligation to carers or disabled people, compounding the wrong. Nor is the State meeting its obligations to victims of domestic sexual and gender-based violence in terms of legal aid provided. That was made clear in November of last year on the publication of the Council of Europe's GREVIO committee report on Ireland. The committee called for an expansion of eligibility to existing legal aid, particularly for civil proceedings, and asked that it be made available as early as possible in the proceedings, including on reporting and investigation stages. A key aspect of the observations was the extension of offences for which victims can apply for legal aid. This is critical because levels of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence continue to rise. However, despite the rise we still lack the necessary data to understand why.

According to the GREVIO committee, which monitors the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, Ireland must begin the work of comprehensively mapping the nature and extent of violence against women and girls so we will be better equipped to prevent and intervene where it is most effective. We must do so immediately. In that context, I welcome the announcement last week on the launch of the new State agency Cuan, which is designed to tackle all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. However, any safe harbour is only as good as its structure, and this development must involve new levels of co-operation from all the relevant State bodies. Despite all the talk, supports for vulnerable women remain inadequate. It is only through the necessary co-operation that we will have the full picture and, therefore, the necessary coherence in fighting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Women's greatest supporters are other women. Indeed, without the support of other women, be they mothers, sisters or female friends, and childcare workers, the majority of whom are women, women would not even get the opportunity to neglect their "duties in the home" – that is, if they are lucky enough to have a home, but this relates to another referendum that we look forward to.

It is this spirit of solidarity I want to send to the women of Palestine. There is no greater or more pressing common cause today than the massacre of the women of Gaza and their children. Two mothers are being killed every hour, their children left grieving. Thirteen thousand children killed by Israel leave their mothers mourning them forever. It is a deliberate act on the part of Israel to target mothers, the glue in families and throughout the generations. It is part of their so-called strategy of mowing the lawn. This evening, I send our solidarity to all the women of Gaza who unable to deliver their babies without fear, unable to breastfeed their babies such is their hunger, unable to feed and bathe their children due to lack of food and water and unable to keep them safe. The massacres not only beggar belief, the also beggar our own humanity. This is not a war by any objective definition; it is annihilation. There was another massacre today when the IDF gunned down people waiting for humanitarian aid and queuing for flour. Who thought that we would see such times on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, Europe's own sea, where we holiday and go swimming with our own children? It beggars belief.

Back to the national solidarity, the joint committee took steps to and for equality, cognisant that no woman is free until all people are free. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I thank Deputy Bacik for her great work, her collegiality and comradeship throughout her chairing of the committee. We might agree that a woman’s place is always with the revolution. I will be there, and I will have the kettle on for the Deputy.

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