The National Women’s Council (NWC) today welcomed the publication of the new National Strategy for Women and Girls which highlights the Government’s commitment to gender equality as a core principle of public policy and law in Ireland.  

Commenting on the new Strategy, Doireann Crosson, Head of Policy with the National Women’s Council said, 

“The new National Strategy for Women and Girls sets out a comprehensive roadmap to advance women’s rights and equality over the next five years. It commits the Government to eradicate women’s discrimination and promote women’s full participation across all Departments and all levels. We welcome the recognition in the Strategy of NWC and our almost 200 member organisations which were centrally involved in the consultation process on this strategy. We look forward to continue working with the Department in driving forward the development of the forthcoming Action Plan. We aim to support the Department to align this strategy with other existing National Equality Strategies, ensuring the intersectional experiences of disabled women, LGBTQ+ communities, Traveller and Roma women, migrant women, and others are addressed in a robust first Action Plan.”  

Data collection and reporting 

Commenting on the detailed commitments set out in the Strategy, Doireann Crosson said,  

“There are some very positive commitments outlined in the strategy. NWC particularly welcomes the commitment to standardised and comparable data collection and reporting. The current absence of standardised collection of equality data makes it almost impossible to understand the true inequalities women may be experiencing. Being able to disaggregate equality data collected by Government Departments and State Agencies will mean we can see the full picture of women’s access and where the gaps are.” 

Women’s Health and Mental Health  

NWC welcomed the commitment in relation to women’s health and women’s mental health, in particular the commitment to address unmet need of in the provision of gender sensitive and trauma informed mental health services to women across the life course.  

Family Leave and Childcare  

NWC also positively noted the commitment to further enhance the scope of family leaves and increase pay rates but warned that the commitments in relation to early years care and education will not address the systemic issues of our broken childcare system.  

Doireann Crosson, 

“Extending the period of family leave and improving the level of benefit rates is crucial for women and the equal sharing of care responsibilities in families. However, the Strategy stops short of committing to the roll out of a public system of early childhood education and care. Without the necessary system change to a public model, the Government will not be able to address the structural issues in our childcare system as it is overly reliant on private, often for profit providers and has led to high costs, lack of availability of places and low pay and precarious working conditions for the mostly female early years educators. For some time, NWC and over 40 civil society organisations have campaigned for a public system of childcare as the best way to address these issues while ensuring women with young children can participate fully in all areas of society.”  

Women’s Leadership  

NWC also noted the absence of a clear commitment to introduce a Gender Quota for local elections, despite a 40% commitment already in place for general elections.   

Doireann Crosson said,  

“Without women’s equal representation in politics our democracy remains incomplete. NWC latest report ‘Women who Lead’ by Professor Pauline Cullen has made a clear case for the benefits of women’s increased political participation and representation for the advancement of key equality issues for women, such as violence against women and reproductive rights. We urgently need to address the barriers that currently limit women’s participation in politics, and the development of gender quota for the local level is one of the key policy levers to do this.“  

Climate Change  

Doireann Crosson concluded, 

“In addition to the welcome reference to the health impacts of climate change on women and girls, NWC would have liked to see stronger commitments throughout the Strategy in relation to addressing the unequal impact of the climate crisis on women.”  

You can access the Government’s new National Strategy for Women and Girls here:  

National Strategy for Women and Girls 2025 – 2030