Aontú Cllr Emer Tóibín has hit out at the Meath County Council executive saying that she was informed that congratulating the people of Meath and Ireland on the resounding NO NO vote to last Friday’s referenda could not be recorded in the interests of balance.
The county voted No by a huge majority – 67% and 74% respectively – in referenda held on March 8th to amend constitutional provisions on the family and on the value of women’s work at home.
Cllr Tóibín says that she was told that her attempt to “acknowledge the huge numbers of people who voted an emphatic No” would not be recorded in the minutes of the Council meeting.
“This is absolutely astounding . At today’s (13th March) meeting of the Navan Municipal District , I tried to acknowledge the huge numbers of people who voted an emphatic No to the proposed Family and Care amendments . That was their absolute democratic right and they exercised it. It is my absolute democratic right to congratulate them. However , I was informed that the Council has to get advice on whether my salutations could indeed be recorded and be included in the minutes of the meeting. I find this exasperating, highly undemocratic and unjust,” the Meath Cllr said.
“The entire body politic, its highly funded and highly partisan NGO sector, rowed in behind this Referendum and tried to ram it through, even lying about the advice received from the Attorney General ; instead of getting the result they wanted, they were met by people who would not ‘obey their dictates’ so to speak and used their discernment and voted NO NO. They used their franchise, and I am being denied mine. I am an elected Cllr, doing my job for the people who elected me and I am being stonewalled by unelected mandarins,” she said.
“I noted that other councils have recorded similar ‘congratulations’. In the end I acknowledged the Yes voters so we shall see if my words are recorded in the minutes”.
“We are living in an increasingly polarised country where people are ‘othered ‘ for having a different position to the ones that are seen as being ‘ right and correct’ which brokers no debate, no disagreement . It is both amazing and hypocritical to talk about diversity and inclusion and then prevent people who take divergent opinions from their rightful platform. It seems the definition of diversity and inclusion is very narrow”.
In future , will I have to mention the losing side of a football, hurling or tennis match, in the interests of “balance”, she asked.
“I am angry at this latest incident. I’ve already being blocked by the same council from putting down a motion seeking that all further legislation protects biological women in all future legislation,” she said.
Cllr Tóibín said that Meath County Council has also repeatedly blocked her attempts to bring forth a motion urging the Government to enshrine the word woman in all future legislation.
“I submitted a motion asking MCC to call on the Government to ensure all future legislation pertaining to women’s issues & rights would keep the words woman, mother, female and motherhood,” she said.
“It said: That Meath County Council calls on the Government to ensure, in the interests of full social inclusion and in support of social and cultural diversity, that women as a distinct sector of society are specifically acknowledged and referenced in all future legislation on issues relating to biological women, and that where appropriate words that reference the roles of women and girls, like mother, daughter, maternal, and womanhood are included in all future laws and regulations”,” she added.
“I originally brought this up in December 2022. I resubmitted the motion, but MCC refused my motion saying that they were still waiting for advice from the Joint Oireachtas committee – it is 10 months since they last said they were waiting for this advice”.
“I contacted the secretariat of the Committees in Leinster House last week to find out that the committee had stood down in Dec 22 as their report on Gender Equality was published on the 15th of Dec 2022. (the same month I submitted my motion to MCC) so the information MCC was waiting on was already out in the public domain. But they let it slide as they have no appetite for this motion”.
“MCC asked me to withdraw this motion before – they do not want to be associated with any aspect of this motion and my right as a councillor to have my motion heard has been actively curtailed by the Executive. Scores and scores of constituents have raised the issue of the gender-neutralisation of legislation, HSE health pamphlets, also instruction to teachers from the Dept of Education to not address students as boys and girls. The Government even tried to remove the word MOTHER from our cherished constitution, but it got its answer loud and clear from the electorate. Yet, I am not being allowed to bring their concerns forward in the form of a motion so it can be aired publicly”.
“A pernicious and creeping ideology has taken a grip on an incredible number of our publicly funded bodies in this country,” Cllr Tóibín asserted.
“We have a whole host of well-funded NGO’s, funded by the public purse, who are rolled out and given huge platforms to try and influence public opinion. They are according to a profile and an authority that is not commensurate with their representation of those they are tasked to represent. It is blatantly partisan. Imagine, a National Woman’s Council who actively pushed for mothers to be deleted from our Constitution, you couldn’t make it up”.
“Their arrogance, together with this current Government and almost all the so-called opposition, except Aontú and a few principled and strong Independents, is absolutely breathtaking”.
“I am so encouraged by the absolutely decisive rejection of this ill-conceived vain glorious referenda. I think the people of Meath and Ireland have had enough of preachy, patronising lecturing from a mishmash of unelected NGO’s, who wield great power in this country and who obediently do the Government’s bidding and who sidle up to the opposition with abandon”.