Address by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality
Frances Fitzgerald TD
at the AGM of the National Women’s Council of Ireland:
“#Feminist Agenda: Shaping the Plan for the Next Four Years”
and the launch of its Strategic Plan,
“Driving Women’s Equality 2016-2020”
at the
Aisling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8
9 SEPTEMBER 2016
[Check against delivery]
Thank you, Orla, for your introduction and kind words.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, I am delighted to accept the invitation to join you for today’s Annual General Meeting and launch of the new Strategic Plan of the National Women’s Council of Ireland.
This is a time of possibilities. Our economy is growing. More people are getting jobs. The employment rate fell to 8.3% as of August 2016, the lowest level since November 2008. Things are changing for the better in politics too. We have a higher number of women TDs than ever before. 35 women won seats at the last election. My objective is to ensure that the possibilities of the present translate into opportunities for women across Ireland. That is why a feminist lens is more vital than ever in our decision-making. And it is vital that we keep encouraging decision-makers across Ireland – politicians, businesspeople, community leaders – to take action to maximise opportunities for women and to break down remaining barriers.
Since I spoke to you at last year’s NWCI AGM, I have had the great pleasure of signing the commencement order for the Marriage Act 2015 in the company of some of the couples now able to marry. The Marriage Equality referendum was a transformative moment in our history. It confirmed that, when given the choice, the Irish people will determine that Ireland should be characterised by solidarity and inclusiveness.
The referendum was one of a series of actions by the Government to reform the law so that it would more closely reflect the increasing diversity of family life in Ireland. The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, which I brought through the Oireachtas last year, is the most extensive overhaul and modernisation of Irish family law in the areas of parentage, custody, guardianship access for almost 30 years. Step-parents, civil partners and cohabiting partners are now allowed to apply to become guardians of a child, and to apply for custody or access. The provisions enabling same-sex couples to be parents jointly of children born through donor-assisted human reproduction will be commenced in tandem with the legislation on surrogacy and regulation of AHR services.
It is particularly important to me that the Act makes children’s best interests the paramount consideration in decisions on guardianship, custody and access. It builds on my commitment to putting children first. The Children referendum was a crucial part of the process of giving children a voice and of safeguarding their rights.
Much has been done. Much also remains to be done.
Domestic violence remains a serious issue in our society. Too many women have had their futures robbed from them. Society needs to get the message that such violence is criminal and unacceptable. Yesterday I secured significant funding to develop and run a six-year national awareness campaign on this issue. I will launch the campaign shortly. Its aim will be to change behaviours and attitudes in relation to domestic and sexual violence. It will encourage family members, friends and bystanders to take action to combat domestic violence. I want the message that domestic violence must stop to reach into households across this country. I want women to feel that they can reach out and ask for help.
I have listened to your concerns that we need to strengthen the legislation on domestic violence. I expect to publish the Domestic Violence Bill later this year. Good progress has been made on it. It contains key improvements. It will be easier to get barring, safety and protection orders. It will now be possible to secure an emergency barring order. It will also be possible for a victim to give evidence by video-link. The victim will be able to bring a person such as a community worker into the court to support her during the case.
I know that the courts system needs to improve. It needs to become a more enabling place for women involved in violence or family law cases. I have set in motion a series of actions to address this issue. A new family court complex is a major capital project in train at Hammonds Lane. It will have state-of-the-art facilities and will replace the overcrowded Dolphin House. At the same time, my Department is working on a Family Court Bill which proposes a fundamental change in how family courts operate. The intention will be to prioritise mediation, where possible, in divorce, separation, custody and access cases. Obviously, where there are domestic violence issues, mediation will be off the table. However, in general, the aim will be to reduce the amount of time that a person has to spend in the court and to focus more on ancillary services. In tandem with this work, good progress is being made on a Mediation Bill. I am confident that these reforms will fundamentally change, for the better, women’s experience of the family courts system.
As you know, the Programme for a Partnership Government contains a range of measures that are intended to benefit women directly or indirectly. Childcare is a priority. We are working as a Government to improve the availability of quality and affordable childcare. A new single affordable childcare scheme is to be in place by September 2017. School buildings will be used for afterschool provision.
We have just introduced two weeks’ paternity leave for fathers since 1 September. It is a crucial first step in supporting fathers to take on a greater caring role for their children.
Conscious of the continuing gender pay gap, the Government is seeking to promote wage transparency by requiring companies by complete a wage survey. Increasing the minimum wage will also benefit women workers.
I will have the responsibility of taking forward the referendum on women in the home. I would like to thank the NWCI for its constructive participation on the debate on this issue at the Convention on the Constitution.
The challenge remains to ensure that women’s interests are reflected in the decision-making process. Ideally, decision-makers should apply a feminist lens. As a first step in this process, there are two key commitments in the Programme for Government on gender and equality budget and policy proofing. The commitment to support gender proofing in the budgetary area has the potential to be transformative. The Government has made a commitment to developing capacity within the independent fiscal and budget office and within key government departments on gender proofing. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will be an important resource in this process. I anticipate that, over time, integrating a focus on gender proofing of budgetary decisions will lead to a fairer distribution of budgetary resources between women and men.
The key initiative that I wish to flag here today is the renewal of the National Women’s Strategy. The new Strategy needs to speak to the society of today. It must clearly respond to key issues facing women, in all their diversity.
My preference is that the next Strategy will address the four-year period from 2017 to 2020.
I know that many of you will wish the strategy to address the issue of abortion. However, we have to recognise that we are dealing with an issue on which there continue to be strongly divided views. I believe firmly that the Citizens’ Assembly is the right place in which to discuss the way forward. We need to debate our differences and see if we can arrive at an agreed approach. The Constitutional Convention performed a similarly constructive role. I was very heartened by the debates for instance on the same-sex marriage question in April 2013. There were people who came to those debates a little fearful, a little suspicious. At the end of the discussions, they were prepared to take the leap of faith and to agree to a recommendation in favour of amending the Constitution to provide for same-sex marriage.
I expect that issues such as employment, pensions, domestic violence, funding of the community sector, promoting greater access to decision-making, and combining paid work and family responsibilities will all be addressed in the strategy.
The issue of caring, both in terms of childcare and eldercare, will also be a priority. We will need to address the impact of caring and the barriers created for women who undertake unpaid caring roles.
However, I want the strategy to focus also on new issues. I want it to address issues faced by young women such as revenge porn, body shaming and online harassment.
I also want the strategy to look particularly at the issue of empowering female leadership across all decision-making sites in our society. I want women to be enabled to put themselves forward as leaders in their workplaces, in community organisations, arts organisations, sports organisations and indeed in politics. I want the Ireland of 2021 to be a place where decision-making belongs to women as well as to men.
I want you and women across the country to have the chance to have a say in the development of the Strategy. We will shortly announce the start of the consultation process with a view to drafting the Strategy. This is a matter that is a high priority for me. Minister Stanton and I will be taking an active part in the consultations.
The approach we propose to take is that my Department will shortly publish a paper to seek your views on the priorities for the new Strategy. We will invite written submissions. We will use social media. In addition, we hope to engage with stakeholders throughout the country through regional meetings. Your views will inform the process of drafting the Strategy. I look forward to a broad-ranging and insightful engagement with civil society. And, I urge you to participate.
I agree with the NWCI that this is no time to let the momentum slip on gender equality. Gender equality gains are hard-won. It requires sustained effort over a considerable period of time to change the ingrained practices and attitudes in society which have been holding women and girls back from achieving their true potential. With this in mind, I welcome the emphasis in the NWCI’s Strategic Plan on Driving Women’s Equality. The message is clear that women’s equality is a work in progress. I know that the NWCI will continue skilfully to keep women’s equality on the national agenda. Its voice and expertise are crucial.
Turning to ‘Feminist Agenda’ as the theme of today’s event, I am particularly pleased that feminism is being reclaimed by young women who are pushing back against the backlash which made feminism a dirty word for too long. Feminism is more relevant than ever to women, to men, and to the sustainable future of our whole society. Indeed feminism is becoming dangerously fashionable. When Amy Schumer says that “Anyone who is not a feminist is an insane person”, you know that feminism is becoming hot. What better time, therefore, to build momentum on an agenda towards a better future for women and girls in this society? Now is the time for us to transform possibilities into opportunities.