The government is being urged to provide free sanitary products across all secondary schools in an aim to combat period poverty. Lord Mayor of County Cork, Mary Linehan Foley, said that in this "day and age, we shouldn't even have to be asking for this." However, Ms Linehan Foley said a recent student council meeting in one of her local secondary schools showed an "overwhelming amount of requests for free period products." In my opinion, they're going through enough nowadays without having the extra stress or strain of worrying or ringing parents, or trying to get period products for them when they find themselves in that position. A recently published Programme for Government, 'Securing Ireland's Future', from the Department of Education, provides a commitment to provide free period products in schools and to ensure that no student is held back due to period poverty.

Source: Irish Examiner March 31, 2026 18:55 UTC