Rose Conway-Walsh: Women at the Heart of Decision-Making
Rose Conway-Walsh marks International Women's Day by reflecting on both the achievements of women across Ireland and the painful history of marginalisation that still shapes public life. She welcomes the announcement of a new FISRU unit to investigate domestic and sexual abuse complaints against Garda members and stresses that women must be central to constitutional change and nation-building.
Immediate development: Rose Conway-Walsh highlights a new unit within FISRU, the office of the Garda Ombudsman, to investigate domestic and sexual abuse complaints against An Garda Síochána and to examine alleged failures to properly investigate gender-based violence. She welcomes the step but says the details must prove the unit is fit for purpose and capable of delivering justice for survivors.
Historical reckoning: Conway-Walsh places the announcement in the context of a long history of institutional marginalisation, silencing and control of women in Ireland. She references Philomena's law and the treatment of Irish women living abroad as examples of harms that require honest confrontation and further amendment.
Constitutional change and women's leadership: The speaker notes collaborative research with Dr Shelley Dean, Professor Joanne McEvoy and Professor Jennifer Todd on the Constitutional Visions from Grassroots project, and the cross-party work of the Good Friday Agreement Committee. She argues that a new and united Ireland must be built from the ground up with women's lived experience at its centre.
What comes next: Conway-Walsh pays tribute to women who have come forward with abuse allegations and insists that progress should not have depended solely on their courage. She calls for continued scrutiny of reforms, meaningful supports for survivors, and for women to occupy central roles in decision-making, leadership and nation-building.
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While marking International Women's Day, we need to reflect not only on the achievements of women across Ireland, but also on a difficult and painful history that cannot be ignored. For generations, women in Ireland were marginalised, silenced and controlled, from institutional abuses to systematic exclusion from public life. And I want to acknowledge the recent developments in Philomena's law, and particularly for Irish women living abroad, we should never ever have dragged them in the way that we did in terms of ignoring them. That's leaving aside all the other alterations and amendments that need to be done in that regard. But this legacy still casts a long shadow, and it is our responsibility to confront it with honesty and determination. Just this morning, we had the welcome news that a new unit will be set up within Fisru, the office of the Garda Ombudsman, to investigate domestic and sexual abuse complaints against its members, and most importantly, to investigate public complaints where it is alleged that An Garda Síochána failed to properly investigate incidents of gender-based violence and sexual abuse. But it shouldn't have taken the courage and bravery of women like Margaret Loftus to come forward for this progress to have been made, and I really await the detail of that announcement to ensure that it is fit for purpose, and that it will enable women, women who have suffered abuse and who have been dragged through a justice system, that have fought against them, and in many cases they have suffered abuse at the hands of our own justice system. The place of women is not on the margins of our society, it is at the very heart of decision-making leadership and nation-building, and last year I was pleased to collaborate with Dr Shelley Dean, with Professor Joanne McEvoy and Professor Jennifer Todd on their project, The Constitutional Visions from Grassroots. Their deliberative democracy work with women from across the island has shown the power of women's voices in shaping not just policy, but the very future of our island. They remind us that a new and united Ireland must be built from the ground up, informed by lived experience and driven by equality and equity. Today women are shaping that new Ireland as leaders, as workers, as carers and activists. I want to acknowledge the cross-party work that was done in the Good Friday Agreement Committee as well around women and constitutional change. We have a unique opportunity here to be able to shape a new and united Ireland, and women have to be at the very heart of that, fair among us.
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