Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry for being so late. As the Chair will know, I was at the Committee of Public Accounts this morning. I have an observation to make on what Ms Phelan said about the two different rooms and the economy and social inclusion divide. I want to back up that point. I worked as a Government adviser for nearly ten years. Much of this was on the social side involving the Department with responsibility for children, the Department of Justice, and the State. On the economic side, it involved the Department with responsibility for housing, where decisions are made that have huge commercial effects and are broadly financial decisions. The same gender divide that Ms Phelan mentioned was replicated in that context. For example, I recall meetings on the establishment of the Land Development Agency, which is a huge multibillion euro project that is capable of providing significant financing. There were 25 to 30 representatives around the table and I recall being the only woman who spoke at those meetings. It stood out to me, having spent so much time on the social side of Government. It is about bringing it together and even calling out the fact that the rooms look are different. I do not know if everyone else is observing this. It is important that the people who make up the 70% on the economic side recognise that there is something wrong with the look of their room. I wanted to amplify the point that was made because it is an issue that cuts across the work we are doing more generally.