Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Today is International Women's Day, so I would like to take a moment to remember all those women who were affected by the thalidomide tragedy. Thalidomide must surely have been one of the world's worst crimes against women, and the Irish State played a role in this. Only 32 women had their children acknowledged and accepted as thalidomide survivors back in the mid-1970s. Not many of the thalidomide mothers are still alive and those who are, still wait for a proper apology. Today we should remember the forgotten women - those who lost their babies through miscarriage or who had to deal with the heartache of their babies dying in infancy because of thalidomide. I salute those mothers, and the survivors of thalidomide themselves, for their courage.

I draw the attention of the House to an outstanding article in The Star newspaper detailing the thalidomide battle fought by Finola Cassidy who is secretary of the Irish Thalidomide Association. It is a very moving newspaper article and she is an inspirational human being.

The bottom line is that we need more Irish women firing on all four cylinders. I attended the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis at the weekend. Four ladies out of five were elected as vice presidents.