If elected, I will…
1)Change Ireland’s record on Violence Against Women
by strengthening legislation and resourcing frontline services and meeting the highest international standards including ratification and implementation of the recently signed Istanbul Convention.
2)Make early years education and childcare a priority
by increasing investment in affordable, accessible, quality, publicly subsidised early years care and education to OECD standards, delivering comprehensive out-of-school-hours childcare and continuing to strengthen family leave.
3)End the gender pay gap and deliver decent work for women
by supporting a living wage, legislating against precarious work, attaching social clauses on employment, equality and environmental standards to public spending and promoting gender balance in senior roles across all sectors.
4)Close the gender pension gap and recognise the contribution of care
by ensuring gender-proofing is at the heart of pension reform, working towards a universal pension and building a ‘care credit’ into our social protection system.
5) Make sure every budget delivers on equality
by gender-proofing of all local, departmental and national budgets and ensuring each budget strengthens equality, reduces poverty and makes our tax system more progressive.
6)Support reproductive rights and repeal of the 8th Amendment
by delivering a Referendum to remove the 8th Amendment from our Constitution and bring Ireland in line with international Human Rights standards.
7)Strengthen social protection,training and employment supports
by increasing access to and availability of quality, flexible options in training, education and employment, gender-proofing social protection policies and recognising the importance of care.
8) Advance women’s leadership and participation in decision making – local and national
by introducing gender quotas in local elections, creating a woman-friendly Oireachtas and supporting achievement of a 40% target for women on boards.
9)Protect and invest in public services and ensure they serve
the needs of all women by increasing investment in quality public services and gender proofing of policies and practices in areas like health, housing and local government, making them more effective and responsive to the needs of all women.
10) Deliver a strong National Action Plan for Women’s Equality
by consulting widely to reflect the diversity of all women in Ireland and ensuring an all-of government approach with clear, ambitious, measurable, targets, resourcing and budget lines.