Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Very good. I just wished to clarify that. I regard myself as a feminist. I have had that approach in all of my political life. My cousin was one of the first female Fianna Fáil Deputies elected in rural Ireland. I know all about misogyny from what she suffered in trying to retain her level of support and her seat. Men did not have any mercy for her or for the frailties of a woman when it came to the rough and tumble of electoral politics. I assure the witnesses of that. However, fair play to that same woman because she was more than able for them and saw most of her male aggressors off the scene. I am proud of that.

I was also on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. I went into that with an open mind. I was terribly impressed by the members of that committee, mainly the women, some of whom are on screen with us at the moment. I was prepared to propose the amendment that was put to the people and to canvas for it. I therefore have a bit of experience of working with women. I respect women and put my trust in them. I have the utmost trust in the women of Ireland.

I will make a few comments. Not all women are feminists, activists or political animals, no more than all men are. No matter how hard you try, there is only a certain element of people of the female gender who will opt to run for election at local or national level, no matter what incentives are placed before them or what opportunities are given to them. That is one thing we have to bear in mind here.

The second thing is that, while I am not minimising the difficulties for women, politics is not easy for anyone. I am almost 40 years a public representative now. After what Senator Boylan said earlier on, I am about to empty out my office and clear out of here. I am here too long. I had come to that conclusion myself. The thing is that we have to get elected. Very few Deputies, Senators or county councillors get it handed to them on a plate. Some do. I inherited nothing. I fought for every seat on my own two feet. That is the way it went; I won or I lost. It is not easy for anybody. I have three sons and none of them would consider for a minute coming into politics. While I am somewhat disappointed at that family tradition going away, at the same time, I am quietly pleased for them. It is not an easy job for anyone.

I have seen great changes for the better in my 40 years. People are great for saying that everything since the foundation of the State is abysmal, atrocious and scandalous but mainstream politics in this country has, in the main, worked very well for its citizens. Any of the improvements I have seen in the rights and entitlements of women were brought in by the very parties that people are inclined to dismiss all of the time today. I do not want to name my party over any others but those rights are there, whether in respect of inheritance or anything else you could name across the board. Changes have been made. When I came into the council for the first time, there was no woman to be seen. There was no woman on a harbour board. There was nothing like that. It was male-dominated. However, policies and incentives on the part of governments, along with the big stick, have helped to change that. Any political party that is not now prepared to work seriously and significantly for gender balance will be penalised financially whether it likes it or not.

I will say one other word, although I know I am going on a bit. I have two more points. One relates to the issue of the token candidate. I do not like that term. It is being bandied about quite a lot now. If you really want a chance to win a seat at council level, your first job is to get on a ticket, unless you are running independently, in which case no one stops you. However, if you are in a mainstream political party, you need to come through a convention. You take whatever chance you can. Some people get through conventions because their geographical location makes them attractive to the party, so their convention place is ring-fenced. That is quite normal in political parties. There may be a youth or age thing involved. If a woman who would not have come through the convention in the normal way because she did not have the ground-level support is added, she then has her chance and it is up to her to take that chance. If she does not win the first time, she may win the second time. I do not think it is fair to candidates who are added to call some of them serious and some of them token. They are all candidates and they are all entitled to their chance. Nowadays, I see women who are very visible in community affairs. If you go to any community in rural Ireland, who is on the school board and who is driving the local charity organisations? Even in the GAA and other sports organisations, women are now very much to the fore. It does not have to be in politics that there is equality.

I will address a final crib I have. There is no point in saying it when the witnesses are not here but they are here now. This applies mainly to the National Women's Council of Ireland, NWCI. I have raised this in the Seanad before. Many women in my constituency ask me who represents them as women. They say that the NWCI most certainly does not represent their views. This came to a head during the abortion debate. I took a particular point of view that, as it happens, coincided with that of the NWCI but a lot of my female friends did not and took great exception to an organisation that puts itself forward as representing all the women of Ireland taking a stance that divided women around the country 50:50. It never really answered that. It came to a very sad point last year, when all of my female colleagues here, some of them outstanding feminists and fighters for women's rights for years, were stood down from a platform while the Leader of the Opposition was put up. The NWCI never answered that question to my satisfaction or to the satisfaction of other women. I do not want to just be critical. I will give criticism where I believe it is deserved. Overall, the NWCI is doing great work. I approve of its work and of its funding. I will help it in any way I can.