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NWCI in Longford to discuss putting women at the centre of local government planning

Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) today held a meeting with women's organisations from across the Midlands region, to explore women’s representation in local government.

Niamh Allen, Head of Membership Development at NWCI said,
“This event was held in conjunction with our members, Longford Women’s Link and the Women's Manifesto Project, the National Collective of Community-based Women’s Networks and the Community Workers Co-operative. There was a lively discussion on former Environment Minister Phil Hogan’s local reform processes, and how women can work to support women’s full participation in public life. We were delighted to have the Equality Rights Alliance present on the local authorities’ obligations to embed human rights and equality into their work. This event was hugely important because quite simply, if women aren’t involved in local government planning, they have no say on the decisions which affect their lives, and local communities are poorer for it.”

Eilis Ni Chaithnia, Membership Development Officer at NWCI said,
“Local authorities are ideally placed to ensure that women have the opportunity to prosper and engage meaningfully in their communities. Through their competencies, city and county councils can take concrete actions for the advancement of women, be it in areas of local enterprise, training and education, or healthcare. Simply by taking women’s experiences into account during planning and budgeting, they can become instrumental in achieving a society where women and men are truly equal.”

Speakers included:

        Niamh Allen, National Women’s Council of Ireland
        Ann Irwin, Community Workers Cooperative
        Eilís Ní Chaithnía, National Women’s Council of Ireland
        Miriam Holt, National Collective of Community-based Women’s Networks
        Louise Lovett, Longford Women's Link and Women's Manifesto Project
        Rachel Mullen, Equality Rights Alliance

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