Women’s Right to Welfare!

Published: Wednesday, January 28, 2004

'Over 100 women from Kerry and Cork have gathered today to start actions to change the social welfare system to make it more women friendly' stated Orla O'Connor spokesperson of the NWCI'. The National Women's Council of Ireland have jointly organised this seminar with women's and community groups in Cork and Kerry1 to build national campaign to modernise the social welfare system and create a women's model for reforming the social welfare system' she continued.

'The women of Cork and Kerry are no longer prepared to accept institutional inequality by the social welfare system, we want to be treated as individuals in our own right' stated Stephanie O'Toole of the West Cork and Beara Women's Network. 'Women's rights are human rights and making the system better for women will make it better for all in Irish society' she continued. 'The social welfare system needs to be modernised to recognize the caring work which women carry out and the employment patterns of women' stated Nuala McDaid of Kerry Women Together. 'Women who have been working for many years on farms or in family businesses now find themselves in their older years with not enough contributions to entitle them to pensions in their own right' she continued.

Today's seminar is the first in a series of regional seminars, which the NWCI will be hosting to build a national campaign for a women's model of social welfare reform.