Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful to have the opportunity to make this statement as we approach International Women's Day. Although I like to focus my comments in these days very much on the celebration of gender equality, it is important to call out a few issues keeping me awake at night. The first one I want to talk about is toxic masculinity, its proliferation online now and the grooming and the exploitation of young men. We are seeing an ideological wedge being driven between young men and young women. We are seeing young women gravitate towards a more progressive ideology and young men, unfortunately, being dragged further towards this toxic masculinity and even misogyny. It is something we as legislators have a real responsibility to address.

The second issue I wish to mention is representation. As we heard, we obviously have a very poor record in terms of representation of women in the Dáil. We represent 25% of the Dáil and are 104th in the global ranking for parliamentary representation. What I wish to call out is that, additionally, we have women in this Chamber who are, unfortunately, fairly homogenous. We do not see the representation of minority women that we need to see. I refer to women with disabilities, Traveller women, trans women, migrant women and women of colour. We have a duty and an obligation as women in this Chamber to represent their interests and to hold this space until we truly have a Parliament that reflects the society it serves.

I want to celebrate two women in my comments. They are women who forged a path for themselves and others in this Chamber. They are, of course, Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy, the co-founders of our party. It is not easy being a woman in politics, but it is easier now because of the work they have done. They are such strong examples of accountability and public service. They are examples showing that women can be leaders and can be respected and capable in the role of a TD. Truly, there are many of us here in the Social Democrats who simply would not be here without the work they have done. Women have changed Ireland for the better. We saw this with repeal, the divorce referendum and multiple campaigns and contributions. Our perspective helps us all as a population to see how things can be better. Our ability means we have shaped a better Ireland. I truly hope that we as the Thirty-fourth Dáil can go even further with that because níl aon saoirse gan saoirse na mban. Go raibh maith agat.

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