International Women's Day: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04
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Alison Comyn (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

As International Women's Day approaches, I am usually asked two very distinct questions. First, why do we still have to have International Women's Day? Second, what about an international men's day? The answer to the second one is quite simple because there is an International Men's Day on 19 November every year. How men choose to celebrate it is entirely up to them. The fact is that International Women's Day is still relevant and still needs to happen because, despite real progress, we are still not there. We still have not reached the full equality that we need. This year's theme urges us to accelerate action for gender equality and there are two very distinct aspects to that phrase. We have made progress but we are not there yet.
As the new chair of the women's caucus in the Oireachtas, I have had the privilege of engaging with women in political life across the Chamber here, in the Lower House and right across Northern Ireland and beyond. Recently, I met members of the Northern Ireland Women's Assembly Caucus and parliamentary colleagues in Westminster. Despite the different jurisdictions, the conversations were strikingly similar. We spoke about representation, safety and the scrutiny and hostility that women face in public life and yet, I remain hopeful. I am heartened by the number of women who now choose to enter political life, me included. Women who may have hesitated previously are now stepping forward and the support networks are stronger. In particular, from every single woman that I have worked with here in the Seanad and right across Leinster House, the support has been absolutely tremendous. That mentoring really does matter.
Governments should speak for everybody. Women must have a voice in the rooms where decisions are made. Former President Mary Robinson once said that the future of Ireland depended on the full participation of women. Those words remain as relevant today as the day they were spoken. They echo the legacy of pioneers such Countess Constance Markievicz who not only helped to shape the foundation of our State but became the first female Cabinet Minister in Europe. I pass her statues and portraits every day and they remind me of what a pioneer she was. A new portrait was unveiled only last night. She paved the way for all of us.
In recent years, we have made real progress. Ireland has seen huge improvements in women's healthcare, with free contraception, free HRT, endometriosis care and greater recognition of specific women's healthcare. I would hope to see melatonin being made available over the counter to menopausal women. That is next on my list.
Of course, we have to talk about the arts and education. Women have come along in leaps and bounds in entering third level education and are pursuing careers in all walks of life. I must echo the words of the Minister, Deputy Foley, when she spoke about Jessie Buckley. What an absolute inspiration that woman is and I wish her every success in the forthcoming Oscars to complete whatever the multiple word is for a hat trick. Alongside this, we have to talk about the disparities we still have and the lack of progress on gender parity. That said, it is an absolute honour to be a woman working in political life here. I look forward to working with each and every one of my colleagues and I want to wish everybody a happy International Women's Day and the same to the men in November.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-04