Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Apologies for being breathless. I just ran from a committee vote. That underscores how important it is that we get more women into this Chamber, so that the women who are here do not have to sit on too many committees in order to achieve gender balance.

This Friday, 8 March, as we all well know, is a really significant day and this year, it is a significant day for two reasons. First, we will be celebrating International Women's Day, a day we have celebrated in one form or another for over a century. It is a day to reflect on the progress made in advancing women's rights and to acknowledge the ongoing challenges and the inequalities that still exist. This week we come together to celebrate women's achievements, to raise awareness of discrimination and to drive gender equality. Second, we will be recognising a particularly unique day for the country with two upcoming referenda. We will have the power to shape our future by updating and modernising the Constitution to better reflect the current values and the ongoing commitment towards gender equality. I am hopeful that, by Friday, we can look forward to a progressive step in the right direction for everyone in Irish society.

I was at the launch of the referenda #voteYESYES campaign for the thirty-ninth and fortieth amendments by the National Women's Council of Ireland at the Mansion House a couple of weeks ago. The National Women's Council of Ireland's director, Ms Orla O'Connor, summed up the Government's and my position on the upcoming vote when she said, "A women's place is wherever she wants it to be." That is why the importance of female role models in everyday life cannot be overstated.

Young girls in Ireland growing up with dreams of becoming a footballer, an athletics star, a boxer or a politician nowadays have truly excellent role models whom, I think we can all agree, we can be so proud of in all of those fields and many more. I was delighted to see that Katie McCabe, who led Peamount United into the inaugural Women's National League in 2011, is the first Irish footballer to be nominated for the women's Ballon d'Or and to be announced as the 2023 sportswoman of the year, to see our Irish athletics star, Rhasidat Adeleke, break multiple records, and to see inspiring figures, such as Katie Taylor and Kellie Harrington, make incredible strides in women's boxing internationally. Closer to home, we have Abby Sheils, the Dublin Ladies Gaelic Football Association goalkeeper and golden glove winner, who is from Lucan Sarsfields, and the former Dublin ladies goalkeeper, Ciara Trant, who is an all-Ireland and all-star winner. I thank all of these women for all they do to raise the profile of women in sport.

In my own field, it is encouraging to see the number of women elected to the Dáil continues to grow and to see more women in ministerial positions, and positions of leadership, across political parties right across this House. I hope our presence will continue to encourage more young women to choose politics as a career, especially since the theme of this year's International Women's Day celebration is "Inspire Inclusion".

Having all voices and all perspectives represented at the decision-making table is vital. With that in mind and with the local and European elections just around the corner, I note the current figures: 38% of our MEPs are women; 25% of our councillors are women; and 23% of our TDs are women, that is, 36 of the 160 Deputies. I hope that in a larger 174-Member Dáil we will have many more women returned.

There is still so much more to be done when it comes to bridging the gap to the 40% gender quota to which political parties have signed up. According to the 2023 report by the World Economic Forum on the global gender gap, Ireland has slipped from ninth to 11th place out of 146 countries. Ireland's gender gap has widened in economic participation and opportunity and in political empowerment.

As equality spokesperson for Fine Gael, having come from the corporate world into the Dáil, bridging the gender equality gap is something I am really passionate about and I firmly believe we need to do. That is not about giving jobs to people who do not deserve them. It is about recognising that, on many occasions, women do not start off on a level playing field. That is why I was delighted to have my Private Members' Bill to introduce gender quotas at boardroom level accepted by the Government on Second Stage. I am pleased to hear that the Minister and the Taoiseach will be advancing gender balance in boardrooms – I think the commitment is to do it within the next year or two - by means of quotas imposed through legislation.

International research shows that gender quotas can and do change the pattern of replacing like with like, but this inequality goes beyond the boardroom. The 2023 ESRI report reveals that being a woman and a migrant creates an even bigger gender gap. Irish women earn 8% less per hour than Irish men, while migrant women earn 11% less. The wage gap between migrant women and Irish men is 30%. It goes without saying at this stage that women in the workplace bring diversity of thought and experience. I am proud to champion that.

Since this Government's formation, a clear priority for us has been tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I commend the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on her work on this. As I sat down earlier to write this speech and to think about women in Ireland, I could not help but be drawn back to the women of Palestine. The United Nations says that women and girls are more likely to face sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking, forced displacement, loss of livelihoods, and lack of access to basic services in times of war. The Al-Emirati Hospital in Rafah is the only remaining facility that provides maternal healthcare to pregnant women who have been forced to flee their homes. Around 500 babies are born in this hospital each month. At this stage the situation there is unbearable. The World Health Organization estimates that there are 50,000 pregnant women in Palestine in need of care. UNICEF reports that 20,000 babies have been born since the war began. A nurse in Gaza has shared her harrowing story of performing emergency C-sections on six dead women - six mothers who died before their child was born. That is the reality on the ground in Gaza. I just want to make sure that these women's voices are not lost in this debate.

Taking into account the voices of women abroad and women at home, and as we consider the upcoming referendums, we are affirming our belief in a society that values equality, respects diversity and supports the right of everyone to live their lives how they want. That is about making sure our Constitution reflects the progressive, inclusive values we hold as a nation and ensuring Ireland continues to be a place where every individual can thrive and where every woman can choose her own place. That is why I strongly urge everyone to get out and vote on Friday and to vote "Yes" for care and "Yes" for families. In 2024, women are no longer hidden figures. We are out in front. We are beside each other. We are behind each other. We are pushing the next generation.

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