National Women’s Council Welcomes UN CEDAW Recommendations for Ireland
Published: Tuesday, July 08, 2025
The National Women’s Council welcomed the concluding observations published today by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This follows Ireland’s review on the 20th of June 2025.
The Committee’s recommendations strongly reflect the priorities outlined in NWC’s Shadow Report and the organisation’s extensive engagement throughout the CEDAW process.
Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council, said: “These recommendations are a clear call to action for the Irish Government. They highlight the urgent need for systemic change to tackle the deep rooted and intersecting inequalities faced by women and girls- particularly in relation to childcare, women’s health, political representation, and responses to gender-based violence.”
“The Committee recognises Ireland’s failure to introduce statutory gender quotas for local government and urges the State to close this gap. It calls for targeted measures to boost women’s representation — especially for Traveller, Roma, migrant, rural and disabled women — alongside practical supports such as affordable childcare and action to address online abuse and gender-based violence.”
“CEDAW also raised serious concerns about childcare in Ireland,” O’Connor continued. “High costs remain a major barrier to women’s participation in the workforce, and the Committee has called on the State to provide affordable, accessible services.”
“On perinatal mental health, the Committee is clear– the continued absence of a Mother and Baby Unit must be addressed,” she said. “They are calling for clear timelines to establish this essential service and end the harmful practice of separating mothers and babies when inpatient mental health care is required after birth.”
On women’s health more broadly, the Committee recommends universal access to care including for those most marginalised women and girls. This includes gender-sensitive mental health services, the expansion of free contraception to all age groups, and the urgent implementation of the Independent Review of Abortion.
On violence against women, the Committee recognised the gap between progressive policy and law and the epidemic levels of violence on the ground. In line with NWC’s key asks, the Committee recommends removing barriers to women’s access to justice including legal aid, increasing funding for Cuan, the new DSGBV agency; ensuring sustainable long-term funding for NGOs in the sector; and strengthening cooperation with survivor organisations.
NWC’s Head of Development and Policy, Kate Mitchell stated that “CEDAW’s recommendations also call for structural reform across law, policy, and budgeting. This includes updating and enacting the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill of 2024 to address intersecting forms of discrimination against women and girls. The Committee also urges the State to incorporate lessons learned from the previous National Strategy for Women and Girls on monitoring and implementation mechanisms and to ensure full alignment of the new Strategy with the Convention. It also emphasises the need for stable, adequate funding for women’s organisations and their full participation in policymaking processes”.
Ms Mitchell concludes that “The National Women’s Council is calling on the Government to act swiftly to implement the Committee’s recommendations. NWC will continue to work with its members and wider civil society to push for urgent action and meaningful progress”.
A full analysis of the Committee’s concluding observations will be published by NWC shortly.