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

I am glad my colleague raised the point she did as it means I can deal with other issues. I will pick up on the point made about the balance between men and women when taking leave and returning to the workplace. Cost and pay are a major part of that but culture affects it too. Until there is a culture at senior level in commercial organisations of men freely taking leave or adopting a flexible week for three years after their partner has a baby, it is impossible, through pay or otherwise, to overcome the cultural barrier. Men must see that ahead of them. It must become normalised and acceptable for a man to do that as part of his career, as much as anything else. Do our guests wish to quickly respond before I move on?