Ms Rachel Cahill:

Certainly. To answer the final question first, we met the Department of Transport as we were publishing our report in July 2020. It was hugely supportive, engaged, open and receptive. As with everything we are hearing today, it was delighted to have this innovative piece of research with the final report along with it. When our new Secretary General Ken Spratt joined, he asked for a meeting. We met him and presented the report and findings. He was hugely supportive. The one question he asked was what could he do in his role as Secretary General of the Department to be the champion and ensure all the agencies under his aegis hear about this and actually start to embed the findings and the ethos. That was a really fantastic message to hear. I guess the proof is in the pudding. The Department's sustainable mobility policy is due to be published at the end of this month as it is the end of the first quarter of 2022. I believe Travelling in a Woman’s Shoes, or applying a gender lens to transport infrastructure projects, is included in that policy. I was involved in early drafts of the policy but I cannot say I have seen the latest draft. I expect to see this gender lens and topic being part of that sustainable mobility policy. I do not think we could ask for any greater supports from the Department. It has been with us all the way through.

On TII leadership and the reception of the report, again we could not have asked for anything better. TII commissioned the report but it is not just a TII report, or I should say it is not just for TII. It is also not just for transport and as the Senator mentioned a few moments ago it is also for the Departments with responsibility for justice, housing, community and education. It is across the whole of society. It is important, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, that we have senior leadership, senior commitment and senior champions - both male and female. It is not just the females. We also need male advocacy and male champions. I have to say in TII we have that across the board.