It's the first time in history female politicians from across a number of parties joined forces.
A motion calling on the Government to provide free sanitary products in public buildings has won overwhelming support in the Dáil.
It was put forward by the Oireachtas Women's Parliamentary Caucus, a cross-party group of all-female members, in an effort to end period poverty.
As well as demanding the provision of free sanitary products in every public building in the country, including schools, universities, direct provision centres and refuges, the motion calls for improvements in education to de-stigmatise periods.
Delighted that our Oireachtas Women's Caucus motion to #EndPeriodPoverty received the unanimous support of the #Dáil this evening #WomenInPolitics pic.twitter.com/dOyAgrLdBV
— Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) March 13, 2019
Chair of the Oireachtas Women's Parliamentary Caucus, Green Party TD Catherine Martin, told Louise on The Hub that it's both an issue of dignity and equality:
"The survey by Plan International - the findings were 6 out of 10 young women say they feel shame and embarrassment about their period. Shame and embarrassment about something so ordinary and so natural.
"The same amount of girls are missing school because of their periods, and over half of our girls aged 12 to 19 are struggling to afford sanitary products.
"So today in Dáil Eireann, we started that conversation and the women of Dáil Eireann are demanding change and we're demanding action.
"Up until today, up until I introduced the motion as the chair of the Caucus, the word menstruation had only been mentioned 27 times on Oireachtas records - in 100 years.
"We broke that record with style today. And I'm pleased to say there were men who participated in the debate as well.
"It's not just about women talking to women; it's about talking to their fathers or brothers, or sons or husbands, and making sure it's very much normalised."
You can listen to the full interview below.
