Women angry as gender cash spent elsewhere

THE Government has been accused of failing to respect women after it emerged €9 million in Budget 2008 for tackling gender issues was spent elsewhere.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) said the €9m was to have been a mainstay of the National Women’s Strategy and was pinpointed for support packages aimed at boosting women’s employment prospects and access to education and training.

However, the money was instead used on Garda overtime, covert surveillance operations and other activities, the NWCI said.