‘It is high time NWCI’s taxpayer funding is redirected to more worthy causes’
An upcoming rally organised by the National Women’s Council of Ireland has been criticised from several quarters for its narrow and sectional list of speakers, particularly an exclusion of Government voices. Responding to the controversy, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said:
“The unabashed exclusivity of the upcoming ‘No Woman Left Behind’ event hosted by the National Women’s Council has been rightly criticised by many. However, it comes as no surprise to the pro-life movement, as the exclusion of female pro-life voices has been a recurrent theme at such events for many years. Underlined by a growing hubris, the NWCI may have overplayed their hand this time by failing to invite representatives from major Government parties. Nonetheless, the episode sheds light upon the deeply unreflective nature of the National Women’s Council.
“A third of voters in 2018 voted along a pro-life line, yet their views and opinions have been largely written out of the narrative or have been grossly mischaracterised. The upcoming NWCI-sponsored event is yet another triumphalist rally which celebrates the introduction of abortion without even basic respect for those of opposing views. This year the NWCI received funding to the tune of €611,000 drawn from taxpayers’ money, an increase of 10 per cent on last year. This yearly jackpot is undeserved, particularly as the NWCI serves no social function other than to provide huge salaries to its staff and host unrepresentative events which claim to speak on behalf of ‘women’. It is high time that the NWCI and many other unrepresentative NGOs have their state funding cut and the money redirected to more worthy social causes, such as funding basic public services and supports.
“In a free society, activist organisations and campaigning groups should be free to select their own guest lists for events and rallies. However, it is totally unreasonable that an organisation which purports to represent the broad interests of ‘women’ should promote such a partisan and ideologically blinkered agenda whilst receiving huge yearly sums in state funding. Irish taxpayers should no longer be compelled to bankroll divisive pro-choice pageantries which do not represent the broad spectrum of opinion which makes up Irish society.”