Sir, - May I correct some inaccuracies in Breda O'Brien's column of October 21st), "Smear against Dana Shames her Fellow MEPs"? In the first instance, Ms O'Brien got the title of the EWL spokesperson wrong - Mary McPhail is in fact general secretary of the EWL and not its chairperson. Secondly, Dana may have been elected by Irish people as an Independent, but she has allied herself and is firmly within the grouping of European People's Party (EPP) at a European level.
Ms O'Brien must be aware that there is in fact no such thing at a European Parliament level as a true Independent as we understand it in Irish political terms.
The European Women's Lobby (EWL) does indeed represent thousands of women's organisations and national co-ordinations from each member state and, as Ms O'Brien acknowledges, it plays a "vital role" in lobbying the European institutions on behalf of women. The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) is affiliated to the EWL and plays an active role in this transparent organisation. As readers are aware, the NWCI represents many women, including those who choose to work full-time in the home. Indeed you have given publicity in the past to the NWCI's campaign, launched earlier this year, for the Government to measure and value the contribution of women's unpaid work in the home and the community.
The NWCI brings such concerns and many more to the EWL - as do all other members of the EWL from across the member states. At European level, one of the biggest organisations representing the concerns of farm women and other women fulltime at home is COPA. This is an affiliate of the EWL and plays an active role in representing the issues central to such women. In fact our own members in the NWCI are further represented at the EWL by COPA and the International Countrywomen's Association of the world. I use this example to show clearly that the EWL is representing women who, according to Ms O'Brien, Dana is anxious to see included and funded.
The effect of the motion which Dana is supporting would be to split a budget line (small in European terms) of €650,000 so that it can be divided up between thousands of individual organisations, none of which is in a position to represent the broad network of women's groups and issues which the EWL in its 10year existence has managed to attract and represent.
The question therefore must be asked: why would Dana support such a motion? I cannot believe that Dana - or indeed Ms O'Brien - is so naive politically that she has have not foreseen its effect. The more political and astute approach for those who claim to be interested in improved representation for women at European level would be to work with women's organisations (including the EWL) to seek a substantial budget increase for all women's organisations. - Yours, etc.,
Grainne Healy, Chairwoman of NWCI & vice-president of European Women's Lobby, 18 rue Hydraulique, Brussels.