Dáil debates

Thursday, 20 January 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Gender Equality

11:40 am

Photo of Patrick CostelloPatrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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77. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way that Sport Ireland and an organisation (details supplied) plan to address the issues of inequality within Irish women’s rugby as highlighted by the recent letter from former and current players; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2438/22]

Photo of Patrick CostelloPatrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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There has been much talk in recent days about needing a new culture of respect. Treating women's sport equally is one of the many things we can do to contribute in that regard. Some 62 current and former Irish women rugby players wrote to the Minister of State seeking support to make meaningful changes at all levels of the women's game in Ireland, from the grassroots to green shirts. What is being done to support these women in their ambition to make the game of Irish women's rugby a world-beater?

11:50 am

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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On Friday, 10 December, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and I received a letter from a group of current and former female international rugby players in which they highlight a number of concerns regarding the Irish Rugby Football Union, IRFU, and its ongoing reviews into the Rugby World Cup 2021 qualification campaign and the women in rugby action plan. We are of the view that it is extremely important that the issues that were raised are addressed to ensure there is a positive future for women's rugby in Ireland.

We met with a representative group of the players on Monday, 20 December, at which meeting the players outlined their concerns in detail. We also met separately with the IRFU on the same day and raised with it all of the players' concerns. With the agreement of the players, we asked Sport Ireland to engage with the players to provide assistance and guidance to progress the issues of concern. Sport Ireland met with the group of representative players on 23 December and again earlier this week. Sport Ireland is currently working with the players and the IRFU to address the issues. I am hopeful that this process will result in a positive outcome for women's rugby.

I am also pleased to note that the announcement made by the IRFU on 17 December confirms that it intends to fully publish the two independent reviews being undertaken. The next steps will now involve the players meeting directly with the IRFU following their meetings with Sport Ireland. Sport Ireland will engage further in this process.

Photo of Patrick CostelloPatrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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One of the issues raised by the players was the fact that these reviews have not been published. The commitment by the IRFU to publish them is welcome. It shows that the input from Sport Ireland and the Minister of State to help mediate between the players and the IRFU is essential. I ask that he and the Minister continue the good work and continue to support the players and any sort of mediation or resolution.

We spoke earlier about the importance of funding women's sports. However, there is also a level of institutional respect and organisation that needs to go behind that. There is a lot the Minister of State's office can do to drive positive changes here. It is one of the many things we need to do to improve our culture of respect and bring about the sea change we have all been talking about in this House.

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I fully agree. Certainly at the start of this process, some of the remarks made did not show that respect. We were very clear in our engagements that it was something that had to happen. There has to be respect and there has to be a culture of equality within sport.

Equality in sport is a key priority for the Government. Our overall vision is for women to have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential while enjoying a lifelong involvement in sport. Both the programme for Government and the national sports policy are unequivocal in their commitment to making this a reality. The national sports policy sets out that we want to eliminate the gender participation gap entirely by 2027 and commits to increasing female participation in sport, including participants, coaches, referees and administrators, as well as increasing the funding year on year for Sport Ireland's women in sport programme. It goes from the grassroots right the way up to the high performance system.

For sporting organisations, that means not only when they are dealing with their top teams, both men and women, but also at an organisational and governance level. In our sport action plan we have set ambitious targets for the leadership and board roles within sporting organisations. They need to ensure their boards reflect the broader population. Some of them have significant work to do and will face consequences in the next 12 to 24 months if they do not get with the agenda of ensuring their boards reflect the broader population.