Aideen Hayden (Labour)

The Minister is welcome. I may be new to this game, but it seems many of the speeches made were Second Stage speeches, not relevant to the amendments.

It is not too many years since I was at a political party meeting at which the only time a woman was mentioned was when the chairperson thanked the ladies who had made the tea. That, unfortunately, is the reality.

Excellent documentation was furnished to us by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service which clearly set out that there was no upward trajectory; in recent elections the number of women participants in the electoral process has not improved. The need for this legislation was well established on Second Stage and I am at a loss to know why we are continuing to have this debate.

In response to Senator David Norris, I am familiar with Senator Ivana Bacik and her independence has not in the least been compromised by the fact that she is a member of the Labour Party. She is an excellent, independent-minded woman who is well capable of participating within a political party.