John McGuinness: Women Tell Us Their Lives Are Being Stolen
John McGuinness addresses International Women's Day, reflecting on personal influences and urging action where systems fail women. He recounts testimony from sport figures, young women with Friedrich's ataxia, and survivors who say TUSLA and the courts have let them down.
Reflections on family and role models
John McGuinness opens with personal reflections on his mother, wife, daughter and granddaughters and highlights local role models in sport such as Mary Fitzgerald and Inka Kenny. He notes how community leaders like Linda Kenny and Josephine O'Neill inspire young people and demonstrate the positive impact of participation in sport and civic life.
Voices from those affected
He describes a powerful contribution from young women with Friedrich's ataxia appealing for access to a drug that could extend lives, and praises the passion of those who spoke. The speech highlights how visibility and advocacy in health and sport create hope and pathways for others.
Serious concerns about care and justice
McGuinness expresses alarm at accounts from young women who say they were mistreated by TUSLA and in court hearings, calling that treatment a disgusting part of the social and court system. He raises parallel concerns about how women in the defence forces and those facing breast cancer and other health issues are served by current policies and practices.
Urgency and next steps
He references local rape crisis centres and the planning of a new refuge while questioning whether institutional responses are delivering real change. McGuinness urges examination of how systems respond and whether timing and delivery of services meet the needs of those affected, insisting that acknowledgement must be matched by action.
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Comhairle, look, a day like this helps to pause the cycle that all of us are in, and gives us a chance to reflect on how far we've come, or indeed what other work needs to be done, particularly in the context of this International Women's Day. I reflect on my mother, who had a great social conscience, and formed the politics that I now stand for today, and I'd like to acknowledge that. Of course, as you grow up then in years, you're influenced by your family, your wife, your daughter. My daughter, Alba, bullied me a lot, but she got me under a course, and kept me informed. And now, as a granddad, I listen to my other granddaughters, Ellie, Robin, Phoebe, and Nancy, and I see the way that they are influenced. Influenced by people who have achieved something. Achieved something in sport, for example, because they're all involved in sport. So, the likes of Mary Fitzgerald, who is a Paralympian, she contested in the shot put. Huge figure, Inka Kenny, and someone that has given great hope to all of those that want to participate in sport. And in terms of administration, I listened to Linda Kenny from Carlow, telling about her input into sport and the organisation of sport and clubs and so on. And all of it was focused on women, young children, and the general community participation and achievement in the sporting world. Caitlin Cummins has been mentioned, and again, a figure that people can look to. People can look to young people and say, well, you know, that can be achieved, that can be done. Josephine O'Neill is the new President, or the current President of MACRA, and I have to say, I listened carefully to the contribution that she made locally in Inka Kenny, and at a recent County Council meeting where she was honoured. And I couldn't be but impressed by her grasp of what needed to be done, not just in the sector that she represents, but in general, in society, and how we can improve things. In the AV room, I saw a group of young women who are affected by Friedrich's ataxia, and they put forward their views in what I consider to be a stunning, passionate contribution, asking the Minister to make the appropriate drug available so that it would deal with their issue and prolong their lives. And I think that all of that together represents a positivity that we can acknowledge. Now, on the other side of this, I've listened to contributions from young women in particular affected by TUSLA, and their hearings in the courtroom, what's said to them, how it is said to them, how it treats them badly and doesn't acknowledge fully what they're going through. And quite frankly, I think that that is a disgusting element of society, a disgusting part of our social system and our court system, that they're not acknowledged in a way that respects the problems that they have. Their lives are being stolen from them, and they are turning to the system which it seems turns against them. And I'm shocked by the stories that they told me, and shocked by the way that they were treated. And likewise, in relation to the defence forces, we've listened very, very carefully to what women who are members of the force had to say. How far have we got with that? How far have we reached out to those that are affected to give them some hope that this system is listening to them? And you would think the system is deaf when it comes to women's health, breast cancer and so forth. And while we've spoken about it, where we've put new strategies in place, they're not delivering in the way that they should. The rape crisis centres, Amber and Kilkenny at the separate refuge. I know that the new refuge is being looked after and Carla will be delivered. But isn't it a strange thing, with all of the emphasis being on all of this, that it doesn't radically change the attitudes of people. That it doesn't seem to, in any way, put some time on this where we want to, before a date, have something done. And I think that we do need to examine how we respond, and if that timing is correct. Thank you.
