WOMEN will be advised how to vote on the Monday of election week, based on a survey of all political parties by the National Women's Council of Ireland. The council has asked each party to set a timetable for the implementation of policies on women's issues and will publish a statement next Monday.
It will also issue a study during election week on the number of State boards that have fulfilled the 40 per cent quota for women representatives. The council yesterday published a survey by economic consultants Goodbody on how the commitments of Government, politicians and social partners since 1992 have been fulfilled. "In general there has been a small amount of progress," said council chairwoman Noreen Byrne.
The council has listed six "basic rights" to be achieved: safety and security; the valuing of unpaid work; opportunities and equal opportunities; ending the dependency trap; childcare services, family and carer supports: and finally, accessible education and training.
Council chief executive Dr Katherine Zappone criticised the Fianna Fail manilesto, saying its only mention of women was in a family context.
Attending the launch, Fine Gael TD Frances Fitzgerald denied that the largest number of women TDs in the Dail's history had failed to secure women's rights. Much of the progress on women's rights, has been driven by women TDs," she said.
The Goodbody report found that progress was being made on equality legislation, although this was subject to delays by the Supreme Court test of constitutionality. More legislation on maternity and paternity rights was needed and the Child Care Act was being implemented in a piecemeal fashion.
Some progress had been made in refurbishing family courts, but there had been no action on the provision of training for women exoffenders.
Child care and care of the elderly were still sidelines. The aim of removing the meanstesting for carers and providing an adequate minimum income for them has yet to be achieved.
Regarding health, there was a need for wider availability of family planning and cancer screening, the implementation of the Women's Health Plan and more action on preventive programmes for women.
On women's financial independence the report found there had been no progress on individualising social welfare benefits and personal pension rights for homemakers.
Progress had been made, the report said, where the Government had set itself a specific task, "such as the divorce referendum, preparing the women's health plan, or adopting the 40 per cent gender, balance rule for State boards".
There was a need for support for victims of domestic violence through wellfunded refuges and rape crisis centres.
The council's inclusion in Partnership 2000 discussions had resulted in a greater focus on women's issues. But a charter for women's rights had not been adopted by any party.
The report concluded that while some progress had been made there was a need to ensure action on agreed objectives. "This requires moving beyond commitments in principle to specific, actionable objectives, goals and targets, by each Government Department and State funded agency.
It said governments needed to make equality an "overriding policy objective" if full gender equality was to be achieved.
The council has set itself a five year deadline for full gender equality. And the report said a programme of action should be agreed with the political parties "aimed at achieving full gender equality by 2002".
Dr Zappone said women raised the issues of safety and child care most often, and political parties identified these as priorities. She said each party had been asked to provide a timetable for implementing its policies.
Certainly women want to know exactly what is going to happen on these basic issues," Dr Zappone said. "And we want to be able to tell them, if tax changes can be spelt out, then so can changes to protect women on the streets and in our homes."
