Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue on the National Women's Council. I was looking over the headlines yesterday and read, "Woman in hospital after assault in broad daylight in St. Stephen's Green" and "Gardaí identify boy (13) as person of interest in attack on woman in Cork". I thought, "What on Earth is going on? What has become of this country?" However, I remembered that we, luckily, have many great supports for women from all walks of life and there is help to be had out there for those who need it. We have people fighting for women in this country.

I looked up the National Women's Council and read through its mission statement, which had some great lines:

The ambition of the National Women’s Council is an Ireland where every woman enjoys true equality and no woman is left behind.

It is "part of the international movement to protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights" and includes "fearless leaders for all women". These are all wonderful things to be and do. Then, tucked away at the bottom of the page is its definition of "woman", which reads, "By ‘woman’ we refer to any person who identifies as a woman." Just like that, every single preceding statement is utterly changed because the normal, ordinary, commonly understood definition of "woman" - the central topic of the page - has been abandoned in favour of a sociopolitical statement that invalidates the very nature of the council itself. It refers to anyone "who identifies" as a woman - not anyone who is a biological woman or is even legally registered or lives as a woman, including those who have medically transitioned from male to female. It is just anyone who happens to feel like a woman at any given point.

The council was founded in 1973. Imagine telling the women of the day back then that one day, the very definition of "woman" would be based purely on feeling and emotion rather than fact. The council states that it wants no woman left behind but it will be leaving many women behind who no longer feel represented by it. I certainly no longer feel represented. Until the National Women's Council of Ireland can adequately define that middle word in its name, it should enjoy no financial support from the taxpayer.