Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Mar 2000

Vol. 162 No. 13

National Paid Holiday: Motion.

Mr. Norris

I move:

That Seanad Éireann urges the Government to establish a National Paid Holiday to value women's work on 1 February (St. Brigid's Day) annually, commencing 2001; and to devise and implement the necessary statistical means to measure unpaid household, caring and community work.

This is a very happy day because, in a spirit of lateral thinking and reconciliation I have had negotiations with the Leader of the House and the amendment the Government had intended to table has been withdrawn. As a result I shall make a slight adjustment to the motion. The amended motion is as follows:

That Seanad Éireann calls on the Government to consider the establishment of a National Paid Holiday to value women's work on 1 February (St. Brigid's Day) annually, commencing 2001; and to devise and implement the necessary statistical means to measure unpaid household, caring and community work.

We have substituted the phrase "calls on" for the term "urges" and the word "establish" has been replaced with the term "to consider the establishment of". As far as I am concerned, that covers the ground we originally wished to cover. This means that the House can be united on International Women's Day in urging the Government to take a series of steps which I believe it is already gearing up to take on foot of certain international undertakings it has given and on which it would be embarrassing to renege.

There is a good wind behind us on this matter because, when we were negotiating a date on which to debate it, the Government had originally agreed to make time available last week. Had that happened, the debate would not have taken place on International Women's Day. We were also informed that a Minister could not be found to take the debate. However, it emerged that my Private Members' time would fall on International Women's Day. What serendipitous coincidence could be more favourable to this motion? I do not doubt that St. Brigid, who was one of the first lateral thinkers, was smiling upon us. Is it not true that when she requested land from a local king it was agreed that she could have as much land as her cloak would cover. When she placed it on the ground it spread out to cover the entire county of Kildare. This is an interesting paradigm of the way I hope this idea will spread.

Some people are concerned about the establishment of a national paid holiday on 1 February because of the financial costs involved. What is money? It is not really a physical reality at all. We are misled into thinking that because we have £20 notes and £1 coins in our pockets. However, money is nothing more than the symbolic representation of energy, the symbolic representation of a reward for work. Women who, on a global basis, do 75% of the work for less than 5% of the yields and own 1% of the property surely have a right to have this recognised.

What we intend to do this evening is to place this matter on the public agenda. It does not matter to me if there is a dispute about it. In fact, the more disputes there are the merrier. We already heard voices raised in opposition on today's Order of Business when an "I'm all right Jill" syndrome came into play. Some female Members stated that we do not really need this national paid holiday. In a way that is a mark of the success of the women's movement and of how far we have come in the past 40 to 50 years. During that period women have gained the right to sit on juries, access to contraception, independent passports, etc. On radio this morning Nell McCafferty said that child care allowances used to be paid exclusively to men. Nowadays that seems a barbarous and stupid practice. However, we have, fortunately, moved onward.

People have said that the establishment of a national paid holiday on St. Brigid's Day is irrelevant and that we should be concentrating on the provision of child care facilities. I reject this argument because it is not an "either or" question. Why should we set two good ideas in competition with each other? Why can we not say that we want and are entitled to both?

International Women's Day has its origins in the activism of women who worked in the clothing sweatshops of New York in the early years of this century. In 1907, women working in these appalling conditions, who often worked long hours in dangerous conditions, held a hunger march in New York calling for a ten hour working day and better wages. Shamefully this march was attacked by the police. On 8 March the following year, a landmark march was held in New York to commemorate these women's struggle and this became the kernel of International Women's Day.

Early in the 20th century, similar impoverished women workers in Ireland struggled for their rights. In 1945, there was a laundry workers strike seeking the right to two weeks' paid holidays, the issue we are dealing with today. There was opposition to this demand but the workers won and everyone benefited – men and women. The most marginalised workers benefited from the efforts of these equally marginalised women workers. We should be proud of them in the same way that we should be proud of the 11 Dunnes Stores workers who stood up for a matter of principle in the 1980s and paid for it with their jobs. We should ensure that this never happens again.

Diverse events have been held in Ireland over the years at national and community level to celebrate women's lives, to highlight issues specific to them and to campaign for equality. Today, for example, the Letterkenny Women's Centre did something close to my heart when it celebrated the opening of its new library and the launching of a book entitled Building Peace – A Guide for Women's Groups. An interdenominational memorial service will be held in Galway this evening to commemorate women who lost their lives as a result of domestic violence, and we must all commit ourselves to dealing with this problem.

At 11 o'clock this morning the National Women's Council of Ireland held a wonderful celebration with tea, cakes and laughter. The only embarrassing thing was that I was interviewed quite often so I said to every person who approached me that they should make sure that they first spoke to an ungodly scatter of women, as I did not wish to appear as carpet-bagging on this important issue. The only reason I am here is that I was captured by Margaretta D'Arcy outside the gates of this august building, symbolically imprisoned and released on a promise of good behaviour and a commitment to fight for this holiday. I am simply operating the terms of my parole by raising this issue, but that does not mean I do not believe in it.

I was remiss in not welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, and I am particularly glad that this Minister of State is in attendance. Deputy Treacy and I fought for a new section to be inserted in the Children Bill. Although this was politically difficult, the Minister of State took this issue to Cabinet and a child's life was recently saved by the new section of the Children Act. That would not have happened without this Minister of State. Our negotiations have slightly wrong-footed him and he will have to rework part of his speech. However, thank God he is in attendance as he is able to take this kind of politically difficult and delicate situation on the hoof. In his heart he will be glad that we have reached this compromise as that is where his emotions and instincts lie.

We are seeking a paid bank holiday. There is nothing bizarre in this demand as the schedule of holidays highlights the fact that Ireland is joint second last with The Netherlands in having only nine holidays. Other European countries have 13 holidays so we are four behind the leaders. The only country which is worse than Ireland, inevitably, is the UK, but do we wish to emulate it? It is more or less inevitable that this bank holiday will come and we are issuing a pre-emptive strike and placing ourselves first in the queue for the granting of this holiday on St. Brigid's Day.

The facts present a stark picture. Women's unwaged work amounts to the largest industry in the State. The Ark Life survey estimated its value at £14 billion per year. This survey represents something very disturbing and interesting. It was conducted by an insurance company to help its campaign to encourage husbands to insure themselves against the death of their wives and the company wanted to quantify the loss caused by women's deaths. If there was a mass annihilation of all women it would cost the Exchequer £14 billion. Is it not interesting that the only time we officially valued women was when we considered what would happen if their work was taken away from us privileged men? This fact tells its own story.

As the main carers of children and other dependants, women save the State a fortune while often living on very limited means and without full entitlements to social insurance credits in their own right. Women are the most active volunteers in the community and many initiatives are dependent on their contributions of time, experience and expertise. More women than ever are doing a double job for one wage. They are working outside the home until 6 p.m., then coming home and doing housework. Many reports substantiate this fact.

A publication called Emerging Voices: Women in Contemporary Irish Society stated:

Women working full-time in the home include those who were excluded from paid employment prior to 1973 by the marriage bar and who are now unable to re-enter the labour force; those who see housewifery and child rearing as more emotionally rewarding than the paid employment currently available to them; those who, in the face of spousal opposition, lack of satisfactory child care arrangements, appropriate job opportunities, or because of the nature of taxation or welfare systems, have concluded that it simply does not pay them to undertake paid employment; as well as those who married in the expectation of having a male breadwinner, but do not now have one and are unable or unwilling to undertake this role themselves.

It is also important to recognise that this is an international issue. A global strike was organised as this issue affects women all over the world. It may seem bizarre but one of the most moving events was a collection organised by prostitutes. These people felt so marginalised and sent a fax stating that they wanted to be a part of this as they had decided to sell their sexuality to provide for their families. They wished to be included so that it would not be a case of good women on one side and bad women on the other. They are all women at a fundamental level.

The Government gave commitments at the UN social summit in Copenhagen and the UN conference on women in Beijing. On both occasions it signed up to commitments to measure and value unwaged work, including conducting regular surveys and setting up national accounts to reflect the value of unremunerated work. However, five years on, these commitments are unfulfilled.

In June 2000, an Irish delegation will travel to New York to take part in an international review of progress on commitments made in Beijing as part of a programme for action. It will be embarrassing if we have not done something and we are providing the Government with an instrument. It can go to New York and state that in Seanad Éireann on International Women's Day this measure was passed. I serve a warning that we will monitor this issue to ensure that this is acted upon.

I wish to outline the traditional and existing situation regarding domestic work. The publication I referred to earlier also noted that, "In Ireland, among men who did take responsibility for at least one domestic task, the proportion who were willing to cook, clean, shop, or dress children was lower than in any other EC country". It also noted that, "84 per cent of the Irish men interviewed said that they did no domestic work whatever, as compared with a European average of 62 per cent".

The report also highlighted that, "Where only one partner had ‘an afternoon or evening out in the last fortnight, for your entertainment, something that cost money', it was most likely to be the husband". This puts in context our request that St. Brigid's Day, which celebrates a national Irish saint, and is nicely spaced from other national holidays, should be a holiday which recognises the massive and heretofore unrecognised contribution women make to the economy. The Government should commit itself to carrying out a survey which will quantify in minute detail the contribution of women to the economy.

Dr. Henry

The Government should bear in mind that if we were asking for a paid holiday for men it would cost a great deal more. The unhappy situation exists that women in paid employment still earn the same percentage of men's pay as they earned when equal pay legislation was first introduced in the early 1970s. That is profoundly depressing. Despite the passage of almost 30 years, women in the industrial sector are paid 74% of the average male industrial wage, while women in the service sector only receive 66% of the pay of men. Money is power and this disparity means that women have far less power in their dealings in the economy than men. For that reason the Government should see this as a reasonable offer.

We constantly boast about the economic achievements of the past ten years and the huge expansion in the workforce, but that expansion is due to the involvement of women. In 1971 there were 212,000 women in paid employment. By 1996 the figure had increased to 488,000. The number of women in the workforce has more than doubled within 25 years. It is incredible to think that the marriage bar in the Civil Service existed until 1972. Is it any wonder that the economy was held back to such an extent?

An incredible 46% of women are now in the workforce, while among younger women the figure is 60%. Of those women with one or two dependent children, 43% are in the workforce. We should remember how much more difficult it is for mothers to enter the workforce. When we bear that in mind we realise just how huge their contribution to economic success has been.

The equal pay legislation of the early 1970s was splendid and came long before some of our European partners introduced similar regulations. It is unfortunate, however, it has not become more of a reality for women. There are difficulties in its application because it must be shown that work is of equal value. It is extraordinarily difficult for those in an all female workplace to show the value of their work. That was a major factor in the dispute over nurses' pay and led eventually to the strike. There were few men in general nursing until recently – most worked in the psychiatric service. That service was one of the most militant until the situation became so serious that nurses decided to strike for the first time in the history of the State. I work with nurses and I know what a difficult decision that was for them to take.

We pay little attention to the value of the work of these women. It is not just the money involved, there are constant complaints about difficulties with part-time work, flexi-hours and family friendly work, which is the most important because it also affects the father. I heard a report of a priest in Portlaoise who had found some teenagers very drunk in a public park and it took him over a day to find their parents. That was appalling, but I hope it is not considered that only their mothers should have known where they were; their fathers should also have known. A male caller to the radio show which broadcast the story said that he felt it was important for parents to know where their children were. He did not say once that it was important for only the mother to know where the children are. It is vital that fathers play a proper role within the family. It was the industrial revolution which changed the role of fathers. Until then they spent a great deal of time teaching their children their trades.

Women still have trouble gaining promotion, not just in factories but also in the service industries, where there are always more males in the higher grades. In spite of the fact that 60% of Civil Service staff is female, only 10% in the top grades are women. The medical profession is no better. I serve on Comhairle na Ospidéil and every year we carry out a consultant staffing audit. A few years ago I suggested that those in temporary posts should be included in the breakdown by gender. I met resistance from the then chairman who asked how someone could tell if a doctor with a first name such as Hillary was a male or female. I would like to know how many doctors there are called Hillary. One of the secretaries on the committee did the work in a very short time and the results were of great interest. In the permanent posts, only 16% of consultants were women, while over 50% of those in temporary posts were women. If they were qualified enough to hold temporary posts, why were they not well qualified enough to hold permanent posts? Surely the patients deserve those in temporary posts to be as well qualified as those in permanent posts. Academia is even worse. The female academics of UCD have taken a class action before the Employment Equality Agency.

I would like to see far more value placed on the work women do in the home. The monetary value has been recognised to an extent but the social value is inestimable. Carers appear before committees of the Oireachtas and sometimes they have been trying to deal with elderly parents for so long that they are in need of care themselves.

Senator Norris mentioned the cross-community contacts made by women in the North, many of whom did not work outside the home. Those women held civil society together. How can a monetary value be placed on that? How can a monetary value be placed on the work done by those in cross-Border groups which encouraged contacts between women from the North and the South? Women are not just double jobbing, they are triple and quadruple jobbing.

I was under the impression that the Italians have 17 bank holidays. Since we have only a miserable nine bank holidays, it would be worthwhile considering a holiday for women on St. Brigid's Day.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. Treacy)

Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo don díospóireacht tábhachtach seo agus déanaim comhgháirdeas leis na Seanadóirí Norris agus Henry as an rún a chur síos chun seans a bheith againn uilig ómós a thabhairt do mhná ár dtíre. Is ceart dúinn staidéar a dhéanamh ar an rún agus déanaim comhgháirdeas agus gabhaim buíochas freisin leis an gCeannaire Cassidy toisc gur athraigh sé an rún agus aontaím leis an athrú sin.

Dr. Henry

Hear, hear.

Mr. Treacy

On 8 March 1908, a group of working women took to the streets of New York in an effort to promote women's rights in the workplace. These women were working mainly in the notorious "sweatshops", referred to by Senator Norris, and were among the first women to highlight the appalling conditions in which they worked and also the poor pay they received. Since then 8 March has come to symbolise the new voice of women in their struggle for equality. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly decided to highlight this growing voice for equality by formalising 8 March each year as International Women's Day.

Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement has helped make the commemoration a rallying point for co-ordinated efforts to demand women's rights and participation in the political and economic process. International Women's Day is a time to reflect on the progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights. I congratulate Senator Norris and Senator Henry on putting down this motion because it gives us all an opportunity to reflect on the immense contribution made by women, not alone in this country but worldwide. It is important we reflect on that because everybody can be taken for granted. The continuous and constantly evolving role of women and their contribution in our lives is sometimes neglected by us all. I think Senator Norris took some pleasure in being incarcerated by Margaretta D'Arcy and his colleagues, symbolic though it was.

Mr. Norris

I did.

Mr. Treacy

It was a credit to him that he listened to Margaretta D'Arcy, as most people do when she demands something be done, and I compliment him on putting down this motion.

There has been a marked increase in female labour force participation rates in recent years, from a rather sluggish period of growth in the 1970s and 1980s. By the beginning of the 1990s, the female labour force participation rate remained at no more than 35%.

Since then it has increased dramatically to 47.1%, based on the most recently published Quarterly National Household Survey for the fourth quarter of 1999. These survey results were released by the CSO yesterday. This means that the female labour force has increased by one-third in under a ten year period – a phenomenal performance by any yardstick. I listened with interest to Senator Henry who has a huge knowledge of the medical field in particular. The participation of women in a permanent capacity at consultancy level and other levels within the medical system will change dramatically in the future.

Equally, women's employment growth has been exceptionally strong. For example, during the period from 1993 to date, the number of women at work has increased by more than half – from 434,000 to 670,000. Over the six year period to the fourth quarter of 1999, the increase of 236,000 in the number of women at work exceeded the growth in male employment of 228,000 over the same period. Clearly there has been a marked change in the gender balance of employment with women's share of total employment increasing from 36% in 1993 to just under 47.1% by the end of 1999.

The European Employment Strategy has included a substantial number of objectives designed to encourage a gender mainstreaming dimension in the development of employment and labour market policies across member states of the European Union. Gender mainstreaming is a state of consciousness which recognises that there is both a societal and economic imbalance in the role accorded to men and women to the detriment of the latter and which seeks to redress that imbalance by building in a gender equity dimension to all aspects of policy.

In the context of our response to the European strategy, we can point to the substantial legislative framework which will significantly contribute to a gender mainstreaming approach. Key institutional elements include the establishment of the Equality Authority, which underpins the anti-discrimination provisions of both employment equality and equal status legislation.

At the operational level, we are pursuing a range of initiatives aimed at facilitating women's integration into the labour market. We are tackling barriers with which women are faced, through the interaction of the tax and welfare system with recent budget initiatives in tax reform and child care provision. It is a credit to the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, that he has moved towards equalising the treatment of each individual, taking into account the importance of the individual contribution to the development of our country, economy and society.

Mr. Norris

Hear, hear.

Mr. Treacy

Removing obstacles which prevent women participating in and benefiting from access to labour market programmes represents another area where progress is being made, with an extensive review by the social partners in the context of a detailed set of recommendations developed by the P2000 working group on women's access to labour market opportunities.

Key challenges are being identified and met. Senators will be aware of a commitment given in the recent Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to publish a Bill to implement the EU Directive on Part-time Work by June of this year. My Government colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Tom Kitt, will bring this Bill before the Oireachtas later this year.

The purpose of this new part-time work legislation will be to prevent part-time workers from being treated less favourably than full-time workers and to improve the quality of part-time work. A growing number of people, particularly women, are employed in some alternative to the traditional full-time job. Therefore, action in this area is very timely given the increase in new types of flexible working patterns, especially part-time work.

My departmental colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, also intends to introduce later this year a carer's leave Bill which will allow all employees to leave their employment temporarily for a period of up to 15 months to provide full-time care for older people or people with disabilities in need of full-time care and attention. Such employees will have their employment rights protected during this leave.

The society in which we currently live has to face demographic changes and the aging of its population, with as a consequence increasing numbers of employees – estimated at up to 5% in Europe – having to take time off work to provide care for parents, relations or friends, especially the elderly. Again these employees are generally women. In Ireland traditionally people in need of such care have been cared for within the family. However, the decline in family size, the increased numbers of people living alone and the increasing participation of women in the labour force have all impacted on the numbers and willingness of family members to provide such care.

The provision of carer's leave, together with the introduction of the new carer's benefit scheme announced in the recent budget and included in the Social Welfare Bill, 2000, by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, will help to facilitate and support those employees who wish to leave the workforce temporarily to care for a parent or relative.

My departmental colleague, Deputy Tom Kitt, as Minister in a previous Administration with special responsibilities for women's affairs, pressed successfully for submissions to Government to be gender proofed, that is to contain details of the likely impact on women of the proposals concerned.

I recognise and value the great contribution rendered by women to the national economy and quality of life in Ireland and I welcome this opportunity to celebrate and draw attention to that great contribution. I would also welcome the designation of St. Brigid's day on 1 February as a day on which to celebrate that contribution. However, even though there are no plans at present to mark St Brigid's day or indeed any other days in the foreseeable future as extra public holidays, I will recommend to the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, who has responsibility for labour affairs, to consider with the relevant unit in our Department the possibility of the creation of a national women's day on 1 February – the feast of that wonderful woman, St. Brigid. None of us would be here without women – our mothers, our wives, our sisters, our daughters and our wonderful staff. We could not survive without them and why should we not celebrate with them?

Mr. Norris

Hear, hear.

Mrs. Ridge

I wish to share time with Senator O'Meara.

An Cathaoirleach

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mrs. Ridge

Two for the price of one.

Mr. Treacy

Some bargain.

Mrs. Ridge

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I applaud the interest Senators Norris and Costello have shown in women's issues through tabling this motion which was seconded by Senator Henry.

I have no difficulty with the main thrust of the motion although I consider it to be very aspirational. I have some qualms with a paid holiday being offered as a reward to women and in this regard I welcome the amendment. The idea of a paid holiday is a good one but how can one specify a type of payment and spread it across the range of work women perform? Had I lived 100 years ago, my property, had I had any, would automatically have become my husband's on marriage.

The Irish mammy was a wonderful person and the ruler of the home. The only problem was that the hand which rocked the cradle was also the one which held the baby. I acknowledge that a man's role was to go out to work at that time. It was not unusual for some women to have 16 children; I understand that the Duchess of Leinster who lived in this House had 20 children.

Mr. Lanigan

She also had 40 servants.

Mrs. Ridge

While her husband was involved in 20 conceptions, he did not have to endure 20 deliveries.

I welcome the bulk of the Minister's speech. It is time we acknowledged the dreadful discrepancies which were so apparent in Ireland for a long time. When I was very young, I wanted to buy a bicycle and had to get my father's signature on the loan. In the early days of my marriage, I had to get my husband's signature on a loan to testify that I was fit to repay it. Now that I am a wealthy elected representative, I do not have to worry about such matters.

I do not generally like the words "consciousness raising" but women's groups have done wonders on a voluntary basis in urban areas in particular. Men were loath to follow their example but they are more shy about articulating their needs. That is where women came to the fore in the past 20 years. I applaud the ladies who took to the streets of New York at the turn of the century. It took us a long time to catch up with them because of the social constricts under which we lived.

Not alone did the Irish mammy rule her household with a rod of iron, she also provided leadership and encouragement to the members of her family. Single women often left lives of dreadful hardship on farms and joined the convent where they became highly gifted educators.

I do not like to exclude men from this equation as we are interdependent. I would have a difficulty if the proposed holiday were to be specific to women. We should celebrate all that is good in people, men and women alike. The provision of something tangible for women such as better child care facilities or support for carers would be a real cause for celebration. I do not know any woman who would want to have a holiday on 1 February when the weather is usually cold and damp. Perhaps this issue could be re-examined with a view to the provision of a tangible and meaningful reward for women. I am not quite sure what that reward should be.

I agree with the thrust of the motion which I hope will be debated at a future stage in this House in a more concise form.

Ms O'Meara

I support this motion and welcome the fact that we have reached a position of unanimity across the House in our aspirations. I hope this motion will mark the beginning of a process and that the Government will take the motion on board and actively consider its merits. I hope the Minister will return to us in the near future with a concrete proposal for a public holiday on St. Brigid's Day, 1 February, to mark the contribution Irish women have made to society.

The Minister was quoted today in the national media as saying that women's workforce participation rates currently stand at 47.1%, which represents a massive one third increase in the past ten years. That statistic clearly shows that women's increased participation in the workforce, particularly in the service industry and others, underpins the success of our tiger economy. When the history of this era is written, that factor will stand out. The proposed public holiday, which should be extended to everyone, would be a public and symbolic recognition of women's contribution to the economic success which is benefiting everyone. That is in no way to take from the contribution made by women in the home.

There is one outstanding issue in this entire debate. Women's participation rates in the Irish workforce are coming into line with those of our European neighbours but we are not on a par with them in the area of child care. The lack of availability and access to quality, affordable child care represents the biggest barrier to women's participation in the workforce. On the one hand, we are asking women to participate in the workforce while, on the other, we are failing to supply adequate, accessible and affordable child care.

We have had numerous debates in this House, a number of which I initiated, on child care. We cannot separate the issues of workforce participation rates and the availability of child care. We are missing out on a great opportunity to put in place a quality, affordable, accessible child care system. I have seen no indication of a solid commitment from the Government that we should rely on other than private sector child care provision. That is not adequate. We need only look across the Border to Northern Ireland where the Executive, during its short existence, put in place a large number of free child care places. There is no reason we should not do the same here to benefit families and communities.

I thank Senator Ridge for sharing her time and I commend those responsible for this motion. The motion marks the beginning of a campaign which I will be happy to support and which I will ensure stays on the agenda until we succeed in obtaining a public holiday on 1 February in recognition of the contribution made to society by Irish women.

Mr. Lanigan

I join in the comments made by other Senators in support of this motion tabled on International Women's Day. I heard a vox pop on Radio Kilkenny this morning on which various women were interviewed. The level of understanding of International Women's Day was abysmal. Two out of 12 women knew it was International Women's Day. One woman felt that women were not getting their fair share. Younger women said huge progress has been made in recent years and that opportunities and the prospect of promotion in well paid employment were increasing.

Mary Coughlan, the singer, was interviewed in Galway and she asked that at 11 o'clock women should take ten minutes to themselves to reflect. She said that the role of women in Irish society and the fight for equality of the sexes had undergone many changes in the past 20 years. She also said that 20 years ago she was involved in a women's organisation in Galway – I did not catch the name but it may have involved contraception. She was attending a meeting of the organisation and women outside were protesting against her participation in such activism. She said that a number of feminists who fought for women's rights dropped out of the fight when they began to reap the benefits of the change in society. This is likely to happen in any sector of society.

The suggestion of a national paid holiday on St. Brigid's Day to recognise women is worthy of consideration. However, there was a day of celebration for women in Ireland long before St. Brigid. It is known as Little Christmas or Nollaig na mBan and it is still celebrated in rural areas. How do we progress women's rights? The difference between the sexes needs to be acknowledged and because of this there will always be conflict. However, we are talking about equal rights for women and men. If there are equal rights in a society, it is well balanced. It is not possible to have equality between men and women. It is similar to the former socialist countries which tried to make everyone equal. There will always be differences. However, we should be attempting to remove differences in the workforce, society, the family and so on. Only in this way can we achieve equality which will result in a better society for everybody.

As Mary Coughlan said, once people benefit from changes in society, they drop out of the fight. Women and men will have to look at this. While we have become more vociferous about women's rights and human rights, women and men in the West will have to fight for women's rights in the Third World, otherwise society there will break down. We are not helping by our refusal to share the benefits of western medicine with African women. Recent statistics stated that in South Africa, two million more women than men have HIV-AIDS. Another stark statistic is that it is predicted that less than 50% of the population of South Africa will reach pensionable age. These statistics are relevant to this debate. Western society has an obligation to the women of South Africa, whose statistics are better than those of Lesotho, Tanzania and other African countries. Some 63% of the population in Lesotho are HIV positive. This may be more because TB is stated as the cause of death for many people who are HIV positive and whose immune systems have failed.

If the West is to give equality to women, we must look at society worldwide to ensure we are not only fighting for women's rights in a society which has improved dramatically for women and men. Rather than giving women a paid day off, perhaps we should have a day where we focus on the human rights of women globally. This is an important debate and I support the motion. As Senator Ridge said, the proposal is probably aspirational. However, if it is examined we may come up with some form which may work. A national paid holiday to recognise the value of women's work is only aspirational. However, there needs to be a special day to focus on many other related issues.

Mrs. Jackman

I do not see why this proposal should be aspirational. Women are often fobbed off as being idealistic and aspirational. This is a practical suggestion. There may be different views on whether we should have a paid day off but I support the motion tabled by Senator Norris. Otherwise, we will be discussing this idea for years to come rather than taking action. The part of the motion which proposes that we devise and implement the necessary statistical means to measure unpaid household, caring and community work is extremely important. Women's work is undervalued not only in the first world but also in the Third World. It is important that we acknowledge unpaid household, caring and community work. The National Women's Council of Ireland rep resents 300,000 women, throughout 144 organisations. The chairperson and secretary of the Women in Business Network, which is affiliated to the council and represents 15 groups from around the country, met with Deputies and Senators today to acknowledge International Women's Day. They are anxious to advance their aim of sharing their experience with us and vice versa to help achieve a better appreciation of women. The National Women's Council states that the holiday proposed by Senator Norris would be official recognition by Government of the enormous contribution women have made to the wealth and health of the nation through their unwaged work in the home and on the land. Sometimes we forget what rural women have done on the land in the First World. In the Third World 80% of work on the land is done by women. We also forget what women have done in the arts, business, the voluntary and community sector, for civil liberties and human rights and in general caring work. We forget the low waged work they have done in the past and are still doing.

I wish to criticise the pressure on women to enter the workforce. As I pointed out when we debated the national development plan and the budget, this is not an effort to secure equality. It is due to the fact that the workforce needs women. It is a pragmatic attitude saying, in effect, "We need you, come along". However, if the bubble burst in the economy tomorrow morning, women would be the first people who would have to leave the workforce. One cannot, therefore, view this as a great milestone in the road to equality. It is purely to utilise women, particularly in part-time low paid jobs, to suit the requirements of industry.

We celebrate International Women's Day as a tribute to the courage of women. There are many hallmark dates. They formed the first trade union movement in North America in the early 1900s. It arose from the sweatshops in the clothing industry. The sweatshops still exist today in Singapore and south east Asia. It is incumbent on us to raise the issue of the abuse of women working in the traumatic conditions of the sweatshops. The goods that flood Irish shops come from Third World countries. Designer footwear used in sport, for example, are made in these countries. We know they are hand stitched by women. A pair can cost up to £90 but what do the poor women who stitch them get? It is difficult work but they do not get even a percentage of the price. The same can be said of designer garments, jeans and so on. Increasingly, they are made in Third World countries. We accept them as fashionable but do we think of the efforts or the sweat that goes into the manufacture of such goods?

Women held a hunger march in New York. It was not just a symbolic march but one that took its toll on the women. We can be sure their health was not as good as ours even if the health of Irish women is of a low standard in the EU context. We have one of the poorest, if not the poorest, standards of health in the EU. The marchers were protesting against dangerous conditions, low wages and for the right to organise. Their protest was attacked by the city police, which is why I refer to courage.

It is interesting that the Russian Congress of Socialist Women joined the protest in 1910. The date was chosen by the Russian women so there was solidarity, even if there was a different ideological background. In Petrograd in 1917 the women textile workers – there is still tremendous exploitation in that industrial sector today – went on strike. This action led to the general strike which precipitated the October Revolution. We do not see the dates in the history books acclaiming what women have done to advance equality.

It is not women alone who work in low paid jobs in Third World countries but they predominate. In 1971, 5,000 women demonstrated in London, demanding equal pay, equal opportunities, free child care – this is the year 2000 and child care is still on the agenda – and free contraception. Ireland first publicly celebrated International Women's Day in 1976 and in 1977 the United Nations General Assembly gave formal recognition to 8 March as International Women's Day. It has blossomed and I am glad that we have taken the initiative by making the point that it should be acclaimed as a national holiday.

One third of the world's population depends for fuel on firewood collected by women and children. Earlier, I mentioned the 80% of women and girls in Africa who grow the food. Women and children spend up to five hours per day collecting firewood in Latin America and in the Caribbean up to 90% of native people have no access to safe drinking water. Women sometimes have to trek 30 miles to reach the wells. Often they have to turn back because the wells are polluted. These statistics are extraordinary and shocking. It is important that we mark International Women's Day if only to focus people's minds on what is still happening.

We do not even have to refer to the Third World with regard to some of the issues we are still debating in this country. I will refer briefly to what remains to be done in this society. Violence against women is increasing. There is a need for more women gardaí, even if I am accused of being sexist. In cases of rape and violence, statistics and research show that women find it easier to talk to women gardaí. Equal pay legislation is not being implemented and there is no recognition of the work women do in the home. We could debate the position of carers for the next hour. The largest percentage of carers, home helps and child minders are women. There are also the issues of family planning and transport for women in rural areas. I could speak about this forever.

I compliment Senator Norris on raising this issue and I agree with everything he said. I am only sorry we will not have the holiday for 2001. However, we will continue to highlight the need for it. It is not a matter of saying that we should have a men's day. My argument is that the other 364 days celebrate men and their work. Let us have one day to focus on what women have done. We will continue to fight for this on behalf of 51% of the population. It is not too much to ask.

Miss Quill

I also compliment Senator Norris. This is a useful and timely debate and it is fitting that we should have it on this day.

At the heart of the motion is an aspiration to value women. The second part of the motion seeks to oblige legislators to devise and implement the necessary statistical means to measure unpaid household, caring and community work. I thoroughly support that. It should be done as a matter of urgency. The last thing the country and its fragmented society need is the creation of divisions between and among women.

How do we value women? Before suggesting new measures, we might calmly examine how we value them at present. Look at the extent and level of domestic violence in this country and the harrowing and appalling effect it has on so many women, in both vulnerable and not so vulnerable economic circumstances. A society which has such a high level of domestic violence and serious violence against women can hardly, with hand on heart, claim to be a society which values women. It is an issue we must tackle with greater urgency. We need to put greater resources into the prevention of domestic and all violence against women. If I had more time, I could elaborate further on this issue. I consider it a key objective if we are serious about the manner in which society values women.

Consider the position of women in work. Women constitute almost 47% of the workforce. That is good but how do women fare when they enter the workplace? How do they fare in terms of promotion? A number of women filter through to middle management, but how many are to be found at senior management level, despite their qualifications and ability? Of the 31 local authority managers here, only one is a woman.

Mr. Cassidy

Where?

Miss Quill

County Westmeath.

Mr. Cassidy

Hear, hear.

Miss Quill

The Senator is allowed to boast.

Mr. Cassidy

It is hard to be humble.

Miss Quill

That was a very recent appointment, and it gives us some insight. What is wrong? If women have the qualifications, if they have the appetite and the ability, why are they not making it to the top? That is a question we, as legislators, ought to consider. If we are really serious about valuing women, we ought to seek ways and means of breaking down the barriers and cutting out the attitudes that prevent women from making it to the top and penetrating through the old boys' network and culture. In addition, we must put in place proper, affordable and accessible child care. That is a key requirement and it is within our remit and our capacity to do that.

I worry when I look at primary schools. About 90% of the staff in primary schools is made up of women and about 10% are principals. What message does that send to young people in their formative years? What role models are there for them? It is that women do the work in the classrooms and men manage the schools and are the figures of authority. That sends deadly messages out to young people, and that is something we should seek to rectify. I am not looking for anything above and beyond what women are capable of attaining. I am looking only for equality. I am not looking for concessions of any kind. We should seek to break down the barriers that come between women and their ability to aspire to the highest positions. Only one thing should keep women from the top jobs and that is if they do not want to do them. Nothing except their own attitude should stand in the way.

Somebody I know very well in Cork recently published her research, a thesis for a Ph.D. on female managers on the international stage. It found that only 3% of women make it to top management on the international stage. These are challenges facing us that we must seek to address.

I want to talk now about women's health. The Well Woman Centre carried out a survey recently. It was a well conducted and broadly-based survey which revealed that 52% of smokers in this country who are under 25 are women. That is quite shocking.

Mr. Norris

They are deliberately targeted.

Mr. Cassidy

They are drinking too.

Miss Quill

They are very young women. When one considers the mortality rate from heart disease – more than 6,000 people every year – it really frightens me that young women are so cavalier about their health, and we have to take it seriously. The Minister for Health and Children recently embarked upon an anti-smoking campaign, and this is a factor that he will have to take into consideration. These are the mothers, the young women, who will be whipped by cancer if they continue to smoke. We must put in place the kind of health programmes that will look after women's health. If we cater for the good health and the well-being of women, we are catering for the good health and well-being of the next generation, of society and of children yet unborn. It is critically important that we address the three areas I indicated here this evening in the spirit of putting equal value on women. When that is done, we can select whatever day we want to celebrate our achievement.

Having said all that, let me send greetings to women friends all over the world. I send greetings to Irish women working with NGOs in Africa, in Mozambique at this moment, to women I know who have worked for years and are doing great work in the poorest and most deprived parts of the Third World. I salute them. I salute all women today, but I salute those women in particular and I send them greetings from this House.

Ms Leonard

I congratulate Senator Norris on putting this motion before us. It is important to speak about women and the contribution they have made not only to home life but to their local communities and to society in general both socially and economically. It is only right and proper that we should recognise that.

I fully support the notion of calling on the Minister to establish a holiday to value women's work, but I would have a problem with a paid holiday. I have a greater problem with the second part of the motion which calls on the Government to devise and implement the necessary statistical means to measure unpaid household, caring and community work.

Mr. Norris

It is Government policy.

Ms Leonard

The simple reason is that no amount of money would pay somebody like my mother, who stayed at home and reared five children practically single-handed when her husband was out working up to 20 hours a day. The same is true of thousands of women like her who did such a fine job in difficult times economically.

This debate is important because it gives us the opportunity to look at how far we have come. Not so long ago women, particularly those in the Civil Service, had to leave their jobs when they got married. That would seem strange to young women today, and we have come a long way.

Implementing the terms of this motion would be a backward step. We have been talking about and trying to get equality for women for many years. Now we are trying to isolate them once again from their male counterparts by having a day specifically for women. I would fully support a national day for families, for couples or whatever, but I do not believe in segregating women and putting ourselves in the background where we will feel we are different and should be treated differently. That is what we have been trying to get away from. On that ground, I would not support this motion.

Mr. Norris

The Government does.

Ms Leonard

I am speaking for myself.

Mr. Norris

That is splendid. The Senator is an Independent. There is an empty seat here.

Ms Leonard

I speak for many young women of my own generation who are in the workforce and who are very proud that they have achieved so much. Women have come a long way. I listened with great interest to Senator Henry who spoke about nurses. I am delighted she recognises that the nurses' strike last year had little to do with pay and much to do with conditions and the factors faced by women when they go out to work.

We should encourage women to go out to work, but their home life should not be damaged as a result. I fully agree with Senator Henry that there should be greater flexibility in the workplace so that women can balance work and home commitments because they have a major contribution to make. Years ago men took little part in the rearing of their children but things have changed for the better in that fathers now have a greater influence on and are present during the rearing of their children. Despite that, mothers are still the primary carers of children. We can talk about equality all we like but the greatest hindrance to women in the workplace is the fact that they are mothers. Once a woman becomes a mother her children become her primary concern and there is no chance of true equality.

I support the notion of a day of recognition where we value the contribution of women. I cannot support any decisions where inequality will result. We have come so far that it would be a mistake to go backwards. When women are mothers their children will always be their first priority and we must recognise that. With regard to equality, we must make it easier for women to be mothers and maintain their place in the workplace.

Mr. Cassidy

The Government side of the House was only too pleased to support the motion tabled by Senator Norris and seconded by Senator Henry when the amendment came forward. It is great to have unanimity on this worthwhile motion.

I would like to think that all of us in the new Ireland are equal. During my lifetime I have been involved in many businesses and most of my senior management are ladies. They are focused and efficient and make a genuine effort to make a success of whatever challenge is before them.

We must look to the new Ireland because we cannot go back to the world of the old Ireland. I remember speaking to a Mrs. Gammell before she died in 1998 at the age of 99 years. I asked her what was the biggest change in her lifetime and she looked up at the electricity bulb. She said that electrification changed life for everyone, particularly women's lives. We must acknowledge the massive contribution the invention of electricity made to her time and her life, but we must also look to the new.

Education has also played a major role and 1966 was important for men and women. Changes in education gave the poor man's son and daughter an opportunity to be educated and to be on an equal footing with the better off. The women of the past were in the same position as the labouring people of the world who were deprived of opportunity. Men did not get any opportunities if they did not take up a trade or continue their education in school. As someone who was in that position I know how difficult it was for ladies to make a breakthrough. At present, anyone with ability and determination is much sought after, whether they are male or female.

With regard to the new Ireland, our President is a magnificent lady. Her predecessor, Mary Robinson, a former Senator, is also a great lady.

Mr. Norris

Both of them were professors in Trinity.

Mr. Cassidy

Deputy Mary Harney broke new ground when she became the first lady Tánaiste. One of the most dynamic people in Irish politics in the past 25 years must be my constituency colleague, Deputy Mary O'Rourke.

Mr. Norris

Hear, hear.

Mr. Cassidy

She has given an incredible performance in her current portfolio. Years ago her portfolio was divided among three ministries. I also salute Máire Geoghegan-Quinn who was a talented Member of Parliament. Deputy Síle de Valera is a Government Minister. The Minister of State, Deputy Liz O'Donnell, has played a major role in the Northern Ireland talks. Deputy Mary Hanafin has recently been appointed a Minister of State. We have had so many success stories in the Irish Parliament.

The Clerk of the Seanad is Deirdre Lane, an eminent lady who runs this House of the Oireachtas. Her assistant clerk is another lady, Jody Blake. Women make up 80% of the Seanad staff under Ms Lane's stewardship and they too are excellent ladies.

I pay tribute to my mother, who reared three children in very poor times. Her name was Brigid Flynn. My wife has reared four sons. She did not have the opportunity to go out to work because someone had to stay at home to look after our children. The principle reason for the creation of man and woman is to be good parents, give good example and to bring up children in a wholesome family environment. We may have careers but nothing comes before the obligation for which we are responsible, the creation of other individuals. I salute all of those ladies this evening.

Women have achieved enormous success in the music world. Examples of this are Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries and Dana, Ireland's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest. We also have great sporting heroines such as Sonia O'Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan, my dear neighbour. The Fianna Fáil Árd-Fheis took place last weekend and that fabulous event was organised by our general secretary, a magnificent lady.

Senator Ann Leonard is part of the younger generation and I treasure her views. We must take account of her point that everyone is on the one level playing pitch in the young, new, energetic and dynamic Ireland. If a person has the ability it will not matter if they are male or female.

I am a member of Westmeath County Council and I am delighted to say that it is the first county council in Ireland to appoint a female county manager, Mrs. Anne McGuinness.

At present there are many pluses and a lot of things happening. In the past women were not the only ones without opportunities. Everything was connected to education. I applaud the Government which decided to grant free school transport, giving opportunities to us all. Successive Governments have continued that scheme. A person must have ability and the determination to make their contribution. That is the way I see the new Ireland going and that is the way I see men and women playing their part in the Ireland of the future.

Mr. T. Fitzgerald

I would be shot if I did not contribute to this motion tabled by Senator Norris and calling for St. Brigid's day to be the national women's day. My wife's name is Brigid and her birthday is on St. Brigid's day. I want to make sure if she looks at "Oireachtas Report" tonight that she will see me and say, "There's my boy."

Senator Cassidy outlined the number of women who have come to the forefront in public and political life. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Wallace, who is present, is another lady who made it through a tough system which men dominate.

I would hate to think of Ireland as a place where women are abused constantly, as has been suggested by some speakers. They have suggested that there is a hellish system trying to destroy women. That is not the Ireland of today. While it happens, it could easily happen to men as much as to women. A few cases highlighted in the newspapers, which I will not mention, illustrates my point.

I do not object to a women's day, but where does one stop? Will it mean having a men's day, a grandfather's or a grandmother's day? I agree with Senator Leonard's point that women are different from men.

Mr. Norris

She was not sure.

Mr. T. Fitzgerald

Women must bear the children and, therefore, they have a different role in life to men. It will be a long time before Senator Norris bears a child.

While I agree with the motion, I do not like much of what has been said. I disagree with the suggestion that women are abused, held back and that there is no recognition of their role. I was born in a parish called Lispole and in 1944 a train service ran from Dingle to Tralee. The station master in Lispole was Kathleen Casey, a lady. At that time the post office was run by a postmistress, as it is to this day.

Senator Cassidy said rightly that we are not holding back women. All legislation passed by this House while I have been a Member specifies that gender balance must be maintained. When the Senator and I were young the children of teachers became teachers and the children of labourers became labourers. The opportunity for advancement was not available. In my part of the country the doctors today are the sons and daughters of doctors and the teachers are the sons and daughters of teachers. When I was growing up the teachers in many national schools were husband and wife. Schools never had two men teachers. In my national school there were two women teachers and one man.

Like Senator Cassidy I was poor in those days. My teacher used to look at me and say, "Tomáisín boy, you'll be cutting worms" which meant that I would be a farmer. He would never have said that to his son or daughter because they would become teachers or doctors.

Senator Leonard referred to the introduction of free education in 1966. That gave people a break. It was too late for me, but not for my family. My two sons and a daughter are in good jobs and are progressing in their careers. Senator Cassidy pointed out that the Clerk of the Seanad, the Clerk Assistant and two of the three officials in the Seanad Office are women. There is only one man in the office – the poor devil has an awful problem all on his own in there.

I wish the motion well, but I ask Senators not to depict Ireland as a place where women are kept down and abused. That is not done deliberately, nor is it done by legislation passed by this House. I have no problem with a national women's day. I hope it would be designated for my wife's birthday, St. Brigid's Day. However, does it mean that all women are to be paid for the day, regardless of whether they are working or not? It is a good idea, but I doubt if it will work.

Things are different in other countries. On a visit to Seoul in South Korea, three women stood back and invited me to go into a lift first. That is their culture. I almost had to push them into the lift before me. Different countries have different cultures, but I would always allow women into the lift before me.

I do not disagree with the motion. It must be examined further. There is nothing wrong with a national women's day, but it will be a long time before it is designated as a bank holiday. I like Senator Lanigan's idea of Nollaig na mBan. It is a big day in our town and parish and is celebrated with mass and a day off where all the shops close on a voluntary basis.

Mr. Cosgrave

I support the motion as amended. I am delighted the House will not divide on it – it would be crazy to do so on such an issue. We are at one on the principle, although working out the details might be more difficult. The Minister of State has done much to address issues regarding inequality and the disabled. Perhaps she should be appointed to resolve what is at issue here. The motion is noteworthy and well thought out. It is a deserving subject for debate.

Senator Norris said that Ireland is down the league of countries in terms of the number of bank holidays it has per annum. He may not have included our unofficial holidays at Christmas – perhaps they represent an Irish solution to an Irish problem.

We should consider holding bank holidays on days other than a Monday. This year St. Patrick's Day will be held on a Friday and perhaps there is a case to be made for switching some of the other public holidays from a Monday to a Friday. While that may be heresy in some cases, people in Dún Laoghaire do not like bank holidays falling on Mondays because it means their rubbish is not collected for a week.

There is a problem evaluating the work women do in and outside the home, including community and care work. Some of the most active people who deal with local authorities are the members of residents' associations. They are also likely to get things done in that they will be in frequent contact to ensure their problems are dealt with quickly.

I support the motion, as amended. More discussion will have to take place about the nuts and bolts of it. Perhaps there could be agreement about it in principle. I do not know if the date must be 1 February or if it is a moveable feast. Perhaps it was a date chosen by the promoters and there is flexibility. It would be a nice break between Christmas and St. Patrick's Day. There is also the question of financing and whether there should be a bonus payment. I support the motion, as amended. I am glad there has been such a common sense approach in the House and that we are not divided on it. However, we are not exactly sure how it should be worked out. Perhaps it could be taken from here and the Minister of State could discuss it with various interested groupings and bodies. I hope then that some progress can be made.

Mr. Norris

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Wallace, is present for the conclusion of the debate because I know it is something close to her heart and in which she would take a sympathetic interest. I had the pleasure of working with her some years ago on the Joint Committee on Women's Rights and we formed a good cross-party team, especially since I am not a member of a party. However, it worked well and it was the women on the committee who made it work because they ensured it did not become party political. The remarkable aspect about the committee was that it dealt with a series of complex issues and never divided along party lines. It is appropriate for that reason that the Minister of State is present.

Politics is a kaleidoscope. We negotiated from early this morning with the Government side to get it to agree to a slight amendment to prevent the motion from going to a vote. It worked out perfectly at the last minute, so we can celebrate International Women's Day united in support of women. Another interesting part of the kaleidoscope is that, if the record is checked, it will probably be found that there were more speakers on the Government side. That is terrific, so I say well done to the Government side. Obviously there was a mixture of views and I did not agree with everything that was said. However, it is marvellous to have a little divergence. If that was not the case, everything would become bland, there would no opportunity to interrupt and that would really go to my heart.

I listened with great interest to Senator Leonard who spoke from the heart. She spoke of her mother in difficult times rearing five children. That is a reason for supporting this motion. Since Senator Leonard's mother was not supported, that is a cogent reason women today should be. My father died in 1950 and my mother received nothing, but if she had died, my father would have received a housekeeper's allowance. That shows that the system then recognised that women were of value to men but placed no value on the women as individuals. Thank God things have changed.

Senator Jackman spoke of women in the garment industry in the Far East. I remember when I tried to enter East Timor and we were illegally taken off a plane. We were dodging around and we stopped for a while in Surabaya where a factory belonging to an internationally known brand name was located. I investigated it and discovered from a courageous woman that they were being paid £1 a day for making shoes and other items of clothing which were being sold in the West for £90 to £100. That woman tried to organise to try to get workers a living wage and, within the past five to ten years, she was murdered at the instigation of that international corporation. That is the reality with which women in these parts of the world deal and I am glad Senator Jackman raised the matter.

We received a few thousand petitions from individuals and groups – the number is more because many of the petitions are from groups which represent the views of between five and several hundred women. This is a massive response. I draw attention to the wonderful sight of the Public Gallery which is composed totally of women. I salute the women and wish them a happy International Women's Day for what remains of it. I recognise some of those from the National Women's Council who are present in the gallery, Christine Ross, the new chief executive, Anne O'Donnell, who has been fighting there for as long as I can remember, Angela Ramsbottom and Susan McNaughton. If I made a good speech in opening the debate, and I hope I did some justice to it, it is thanks to Susan McNaughton and Ciara McKenna who provided much of the material and research for me.

It is important to recognise that the National Women's Council did important work because it had included in both Partnership 2000 and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness a commitment to develop the statistical methods to evaluate the full extent of the contribution of unpaid work, and that is terribly important. Paragraph 5.11 of Partnership 2000 states:

The development of statistical methods to evaluate the full extent of the contribution of unpaid work, mainly done by women and their contributions to the national economy, including their contribution in the unremunerated and domestic sectors, will be undertaken during the course of this Partnership. The CSO will undertake a pilot study based on a time-use survey during 1997 as the first stage of this process.

The pilot study was completed two years late. The Government did not fulfil its commitment beyond its first stage within the lifetime of the agreement. At the Beijing conference, it gave further commitments to conduct regular time-use surveys. As I remarked by intervention when Senator Leonard dissociated from this part, the Government has committed itself to it and it is part of its policy. We always welcome independent voices and Senator Leonard is welcome on this side, even though I might not agree with her views.

This is something that has been happening worldwide. In the House of Representatives in America, for example, a Democrat Party representative, Barbara-Rose Collins from Michigan, introduced a Bill in 1993 called the Unremunerated Work Act. She said:

The pillars of our economy are composed of an invisible force of unwaged workers. We reap the fruits of their labor, but ignore their existence. I want them recognized.

I thoroughly enjoyed the speech of my good friend, Senator Tom Fitzgerald, because it brought a type of reality to the debate. He mentioned his locality, Lispole, and the postmistress there. However, he said some things with which I disagree. He seemed to suggest that we implied that Government legislation is marginalising women. That will need to be examined but I do not believe that was part of our argument. However, no one could deny that women are abused in society. They are the victims of violence, rape and economic deprivation. How could any citizen of this country, woman or man, be satisfied with highly discriminatory wage policies? They exist and have been tabulated for us. That is why we want statistics. It is important we know that women are paid on average 30% less than men. Why is that? I remember when Máire Geoghegan-Quinn introduced the law decriminalising homosexual behaviour and mean-minded people on this side of the House tried to introduce a discriminatory age of consent. I will never forget what she said: that as a democrat and a member of an Irish Government and Parliament she would need solid, cogent, compelling reasons to introduce any element of discrimination against Irish citizens. That is a principle we should all support and it also operates in the area of wages for women. It is not to take anything away from men, but women should be given their due.

Men internationally also support this call. I wish to put on record two quotations from men. One is from someone in the United Kingdom called Bob. He is obviously an Englishman – only Englishmen are called Bob. He said:

I watched my mother ruin her health bring up us four children, virtually on her own, often without any house keeping money each week from my father. My mother worked not only in the home as a housewife, but in the many part time jobs she had to have to make up for the lack of house keeping. If she had been paid for all the work she did unpaid, life would have been a lot easier for her and her children as well.

She perhaps could have taken the rest she so badly needed, and us four children could have eaten better and had some new clothes instead of everybody's hand me downs. But most important she could have spent more time with us instead of running off to her next part time job to earn today's dinner. This is why I support the Global Women's Strike, to recognise the tremendous amount of hard work women are putting in all unpaid to keep their families going.

The second and final one is from Giorgio, an immigrant to the UK from Italy. He states:

My mother recently died. Her death made me think more than I had done in the past about all the work she had done, in her family as a child, then taking care of me and my father and other relatives, as well as taking part in the Resistance, bringing food and messages to her brothers who were fighting the fascists. Her work gained very little recognition and no money. In supporting the women's strike I feel I'm paying homage to her memory. I will help spreading the word, translating the strike material into Italian.

That is the spirit I recognise throughout this House. I was moved that Senator Leonard spoke about her family background and Senator Cassidy spoke about his mother, Brigid Flynn, who became Mrs. Brigid Cassidy and the difficult circumstances in which those remarkable women brought up their talented families. Like that Italian man, they would also want to recognise the work that was done in such difficult circumstances and which was not recognised or paid for.

I am extremely glad we have managed to pass this resolution unanimously. It is now on the record of the Oireachtas and it is something on which we can build. I have no doubt that a new bank holiday will be introduced and the women of Ireland will be the first in the queue.

Question put and agreed to.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

When is it proposed to sit again?

Mr. T. Fitzgerald

At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.