A motion proposed by Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly has been passed by Cavan County Council, stating that the Work Life Balance Bill should be redrafted to include the words woman, female and mother, in the clauses that relate to maternity protections.
The Work Life Balance Bill became the subject of controversy earlier this year when it emerged that it would amend the 1984 Maternity Protection Act to erase the words ‘woman’ and ‘mother’ and replace them with the ‘gender neutral’ term ‘person’.
Aontú Councillor for Cavan, Sarah O’Reilly, proposed that “Cavan County Council supports the redrafting of the Work Life Balance Bill to include the words woman, female and mother, in the clauses that relate to maternity protections.”
Speaking in favour of the motion, which was carried, she said:
“Like most politicians, I hesitate when it comes to a debate that involves transgender people. I believe transgender people or anyone struggling with gender related issues deserve full protection from discrimination and we as a society must always be sensitive and respectful towards them.”
“I, like many women who contacted me following the Liveline show in June, was very upset to learn, that all mentions of women and mothers are being erased from new legal provisions concerning rights to maternity leave and breastfeeding.”
“We do not wish to see words like, woman, girl, mother, motherhood removed from legislation or indeed from communications from arms of the state, NGO’s and society in general. And I think it would be a foolish mistake to underestimate the depth of feeling that ordinary Irish women and men have on this issue.”
“My right to be called a woman or to be referred to as female is important to me. I am proud of the fact that I am a woman, I am proud to be a mother and hopefully by New Year, I will be lucky enough to become a very proud grandmother for the first time!”
“These words matter to women, they help define who we are and who we have become. I agree with those women who contacted me, we feel it is de-humanising and would remove an important part of our identity if these words are removed. Women have fought too hard and for too long to allow our rights to be taken away from us without consultation for fear of offending others, however misguided, in the name of inclusion,” she said.
She said that while Labour Party leader and chair of the gender committee Ivana Bacik had recently given her backing to keeping the word “woman” in the laws that cover maternity rights in Ireland, “however, Ivana then goes on to give a master class on speaking out of both sides of her mouth by stating that “a trans woman is a woman.”
“If true, and were that statement acted upon, it alone would have serious implications for the sex-based rights of women. Women’s right to single sex spaces in prisons, toilets, changing rooms etc would no longer be protected. The rights of women and children to a safe space and the right to participate fairly in competitive sports would also be threatened. Under the law, anyone can identify as a woman and gain entry to spaces that were designed to keep woman safe,” she continued.
“We also cannot allow a situation where opportunistic predators, who are not transgender but who take advantage of the law, could seek victims by having easy access to safe spaces for woman and children. Conflating biological sex and gender identity without safeguarding is a risk too high to take. 98.8% of sex offenders are male and 80% of victims of sexual offenses are female, these are the facts and we have a duty to prevent these figures from increasing,” she warned.
“My position is, a woman is a woman and a trans woman is a trans woman. I believe we must be honest, factual & use common-sense in defending women’s sex-based rights against the threat posed by gender identity ideology. I understand & respect that some people may wish me to address them by their preferred gender & that’s not a problem for me, in fact most people I know are happy to do so,” the Aontú Councillor said.
“I believe some representative bodies of both Transgender people and of Woman have let both sides down on this issue, the escalation of this debate which, in my opinion was bound to happen, has led to much distress for women and much unwarranted attention being focused particularly on vulnerable people not just within the trans community but others who identify by gender,” she said.
“This is the moment when Irish people realise the depth of the capture of the Irish government by lobby groups. Our government must also shoulder responsibility for this issue, rushing legislation in order to be as populist as possible, shutting down debate and genuine questioning is not good for democracy. Government must ensure, in their rush to protect one group in need of protection, that it is not at the expense of others, in this case, nearly 50% of the population.
“We need to listen to the voices of woman on this issue,” she concluded.