Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will not be opposing the motion. I commend the motion. It has been drafted by the parliamentary caucus - the women's caucus. It shows great leadership especially in terms of breaking down stigma. It also shows the progress that has been made in terms of the representation in these Houses. It reflects the importance of the recent lengthy national conversations we have had about women's rights. The great disadvantage of having a gender imbalance, or any imbalance, in these institutions is that the lived experience of people – in this case, women – does not get an equal hearing.

Senator Bacik mentioned the statistics. A total of 50.5% of the population in the State are women and yet only 22% of Deputies and 30% of Senators are women. It has been mentioned that there are not many men here. Some 70% of the representatives in the House are men but only three have turned up here today. There is a distinct lack of diversity in these Houses. This is highlighted by the fact that we do not have representation of people of colour, those from the Traveller community, people with disabilities, people seeking asylum or those from working class backgrounds. I could go on. Through the motion we are highlighting that when the House becomes more diverse we can diversify our opinions and make them genuinely representative.

Prior to the Dáil debate on this motion two weeks ago, menstruation was only mentioned in the Dáil 27 times. It was only mentioned four times in the sense of how periods relate to men in terms of bans on contraception and abortion. We have a historical aversion to talking about periods and anything to do with female reproductive biology. This serves only to stigmatise and shame people in society. Practices like churching come to mind, whereby women were cleansed after reproduction. Stigma is also commonplace in terms of having a long way to go.

As stated in the motion, some 60% of respondents to the Plan International survey said they believed that school did not adequately inform them about periods. We consistently hear a conversation on how people are being failed by relationships and sexuality education. People are probably not being failed in that respect but rather by the complete lack of relationships and sexuality education. I have mentioned this time and again in terms of sexual health in particular, but this is another issue where there is a knock-on effect because of a complete lack of relationships and sexuality education.

Stigma also remains in public policy. The State does not have a tampon tax. VAT is included on mooncups, a newly-emerging method of sanitary wear mentioned by others, including Senator Conway-Walsh. She also mentioned Lynn Boylan, MEP. Many of the mooncups currently being used are imported at a cheap price from Asian markets. These markets do not have safety checks or regulations although the materials used are medical grade silicone. For a product that is inserted into a sensitive and absorbent part of the body, this is particularly concerning and probably a consequence of period poverty in the context of women looking for the cheapest available options.

I wish to commend the work of Homeless Period Ireland and Tropical Popical. Those involved have done really great work in creating awareness of the difficulties involved for those who are homeless. The State must accept that it is not doing enough here. The current situation robs people of dignity and agency. Homeless Period Ireland is acting in the absence of effective action by the Government.

Direct provision has been mentioned. I wish to add my voice to the anxiety that Senators have regarding people in direct provision. I expect the Minister of State will address that as well.