Kingston secures free sanitary product pilot in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown

Labour Spokesperson for Equality and Councillor in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Deirdre Kingston has welcomed the decision by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to provide free sanitary products in county libraries. Cllr Kingston proposed the initiative at tonight’s Budget meeting.

The move follows a decision by Dublin City Council in September following a motion from Cllr. Rebecca Moynihan.

Speaking after the Budget meeting, Cllr. Kingston said:

“This is a really important step to address period poverty for women and address the stigma around the issue. Plan International have found that 50% of Irish girls aged 12 – 19 have experiences around affordability for sanitary products.

“Many women have no choice but to go without if their weekly budget is already stretched. This is even more pronounced for women in homeless accommodation or in direct provision centres.

“There is a real stigma attached to this issue. Much of the time it can be met with sniggers but it is not a laughing matter. It is far from funny when girls are missing school on a monthly basis because they can’t afford products. Or when a homeless woman is stripped of her dignity because she cannot afford sanitary pads or tampons.

 “This motion ring-fenced money in the 2019 Budget to run a pilot scheme in two of our county libraries and I thank all Councillors for their support. I would hope that in time, this could be rolled out across all public buildings in the county.”