Rose Conway-Walsh: Pride Month, Progress and the Work Ahead
Rose Conway-Walsh marked Pride Month in the House, praising recent advances for LGBTQ plus people while warning that significant challenges remain. She urged action on healthcare access in rural Ireland, stronger school supports for young people, and accountability for online abuse.
Rose Conway-Walsh acknowledged milestones from marriage equality to increased social acceptance and welcomed the work of groups such as ICTU and upcoming legislation from Angus O'Snoddy. She credited activists, families and communities for the gains while emphasising that laws alone do not erase discrimination.
Drawing on a recent meeting with an LGBTQ plus person from Mayo, she highlighted persistent isolation, discrimination and barriers to affirming healthcare and mental health services in rural areas. She argued that people should not face long journeys or lengthy waiting lists to receive respectful, timely care.
Conway-Walsh commended teachers and schools for fostering inclusion but said the government must ensure adequate supports at school level so every young person feels safe, supported and valued. She stressed early intervention and school-community measures to challenge discrimination.
She called out unacceptable levels of online abuse and intolerance, saying individuals and social media companies must be held to account. Conway-Walsh urged ministers and tech firms to act to stop hate speech and protect vulnerable people from harassment.
Conway-Walsh closed by insisting that LGBTQ plus rights are basic human rights and that the work of Pride must include stamping out hatred and ensuring dignity for all. Her remarks frame Pride Month as both a celebration and a reminder of the unfinished work ahead.
Progress and legislation
Rose Conway-Walsh acknowledged milestones from marriage equality to increased social acceptance and welcomed the work of groups such as ICTU and upcoming legislation from Angus O'Snoddy. She credited activists, families and communities for the gains while emphasising that laws alone do not erase discrimination.
Rural realities and healthcare gaps
Drawing on a recent meeting with an LGBTQ plus person from Mayo, she highlighted persistent isolation, discrimination and barriers to affirming healthcare and mental health services in rural areas. She argued that people should not face long journeys or lengthy waiting lists to receive respectful, timely care.
Young people and schools
Conway-Walsh commended teachers and schools for fostering inclusion but said the government must ensure adequate supports at school level so every young person feels safe, supported and valued. She stressed early intervention and school-community measures to challenge discrimination.
Online abuse and corporate responsibility
She called out unacceptable levels of online abuse and intolerance, saying individuals and social media companies must be held to account. Conway-Walsh urged ministers and tech firms to act to stop hate speech and protect vulnerable people from harassment.
A continued call to action
Conway-Walsh closed by insisting that LGBTQ plus rights are basic human rights and that the work of Pride must include stamping out hatred and ensuring dignity for all. Her remarks frame Pride Month as both a celebration and a reminder of the unfinished work ahead.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Conor Sheehan
Conor Sheehan: Families Left on Crumbling Foundations
Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath: Redress Scheme Ignores Families' Foundations
Richard O'Donoghue
Richard O'Donoghue: Respect Equals Pride - A Father's Plea
Martin Daly
Martin Daly: Patient transfer failure exposes system dysfunction
Niamh Smyth
Niamh Smyth introduces AI Bill to implement EU AI Act
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae: Fix Donegal's defective homes now
Transcript
I welcome the opportunity to mark Pride Month here in the House. Pride is a time to celebrate diversity and inclusion, but it's also a time to reflect on the journey that has brought us here and the work that still remains to be done. Ireland has made significant progress in recent years in advancing rights and dignity of LGBTQ plus people, including, as my colleague Maura Devine pointed out, including the work of ICTU, and obviously we welcome the legislation that Angus O'Snoddy will hopefully get passed in this House in the next couple of weeks. From the historic marriage equality referendum to the greater visibility and acceptance across society, these achievements are a testament to the courage and the determination of activists, campaigners, families and communities who have fought tirelessly for equality and for basic human rights. We recognise the contribution of LGBTQ to our families, to our communities, to workplaces, to our culture and to our country. However, progress cannot be measured solely by legislative change. Last week I met with a member of the LGBTQ plus community from Mayo who spoke really candidly and honestly about the challenges that many people continue to face, particularly in rural Ireland. Despite the advances we have made to many LGBTQ plus people still experience isolation, discrimination and barriers to accessing the health care and the mental health services that they need and they deserve. People living in rural communities should not have to travel long distances or face lengthy waiting lists to receive appropriate and affirming care. Everyone deserves timely access to health care, to services that recognise and respect their identity and to mental health supports that are responsive to their experiences. We also need to ensure that young people feel safe, supported and valued at an early age. I want to commend our schools and our teachers for the vital role that they play in fostering understanding, respect and inclusion, but it is the government's responsibility to ensure adequate supports are available at school level and within school communities so that every young person knows that they belong and that they are not alone, and to challenge discrimination. Pride reminds us that we must continue to stand together to challenge prejudice wherever it exists and to work towards an Ireland where every person can live openly, safely and with dignity, regardless of who they are or whom they love. Minister, it's beyond time that we stamped out hatred intolerance everywhere. You don't get to abuse people either online or in person and then call yourself a decent person because you're not a decent person when you do that, and there is a responsibility as well on the tech companies and social media companies who are making money on the backs of all this to ensure that this stops, that it stops. It should be of concern to us all, some of the utterings and the stuff that we see online, particularly in recent times. It is not acceptable, it is not acceptable. LGBTQ plus rights are human rights, basic human rights.