As a man, I welcome the opportunity to discuss International Women’s Day. It is an important day for every man to reflect on. It should not be this day alone, however. Men need to reflect every day on how we treat women, both in this State and across the world. Following more than 20 years in political life, I am seriously worried about the dramatic increase in the number of women fleeing domestic violence who have into my office in recent weeks and since the start of the year. These women, some with children, are leaving extremely volatile and dangerous situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs. In many cases, I have had to contact local gardaí to assist with the sickening cases I am coming across. Due to the housing emergency in County Kildare, many of the women with whom I am dealing continue to live with threatening partners, which – I am sure the Minister of State will agree - is totally and utterly unsafe. We have a housing system that does not recognise the immediate welfare needs of many homeless women and their families who have fled these violent situations. That needs to simply change. In my constituency of Kildare South, Teach Tearmainn is the domestic refuge. It has supported 896 women and 93 children in 2025. Its emergency accommodation supported 32 women and 31 children and it received requests to accommodate nearly 407 women and close to 440 children. Unfortunately, 269 of these requests had to be turned down because the centre is not big enough. At a recent meeting with the CEO of Teach Tearmainn, Lorraine Rowan, I was shocked to hear that Kildare is listed as a secondary priority area following the recent report. Kildare’s population is now heading above 250,000. From recent meetings with Teach Tearmainn and family resource centres in the county, domestic violence has become a serious and increasing worry for both these organisations and every public representative in the county. I am informed that Offaly and Kerry have been changed to priority 1 status since the report. I plead with the Minister of State to work with Teach Tearmainn and to add Kildare, with its growing population and the many cases coming through my office on an almost weekly basis now, to priority 1 status. The need is there now. I am seriously concerned for the welfare of the many women I am currently dealing with. Organisations like Teach Tearmainn are stretched to their limit. Teach Tearmainn also recently applied for a development worker to work on prevention measures, which, we all agree, are so important, and on early intervention with domestic violence sufferers. It was refused. The staff cannot understand why that happened, particularly in light of the case they put forward. Again, I ask the Minister of State to look into this case. Like my colleague, I take this opportunity to thank all the women who have shaped my life through a sense of community, justice, belonging and welfare. However, it is because of this that I raise the issue of childcare. Many of the women I am dealing with are thinking about and are, unfortunately, being forced to give up their careers due to the lack of and the cost of childcare, not only in Kildare but right throughout the State. The lack of childcare in places like Kildare town, Newbridge and Kilcullen is having a profound impact on women and their families. In a recent survey I carried out, 81% of parents in Kilcullen said that the lack of available places is the biggest challenge when looking for childcare, while 77% said they are having to travel outside the county of Kildare to avail of childcare. This issue is greatly impacting on lives and women's participation in employment is seriously affected by these statistics. Nearly half of the parents said they are considering giving up their job due to a lack of available childcare, 20% have already given up their career due to these challenges and 47% said they have had to reduce their working hours. Those statistics are simply not good enough. These are the women we depend on in so many careers. Will the Minister of State look at Kildare and ensure the childcare is provided and also that the cost is reduced?

Sentiment score: -0.09