Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for his kind words. He is dead right that there is a huge issue with retention throughout the country. I have seen some very good local authority members who, unfortunately, have left the field. We are at a loss without their service, which was very important, and I saw that my own local authority area. In terms of mental health, the Local Authority Members Association,LAMA, is doing significant work in providing counselling. I was amazed and delighted to see the AILG partnering up with UCC for degree programmes to upskill councillors. They are at the cutting edge, arming them with what they need to discharge their duties as local authority representatives.

We have got into a much better space in local government, but we all can do better, including me, in terms of how we talk to one another in public discourse. We see, especially for women councillors, that some of the stuff that is put up on social media is horrific. When we talk to one another in committees, the Chamber or wherever, we have to be mindful of that. Again, 99.9% of those who are in politics, whether they are in national or local politics, are in it to do their very best for their community. We all may have different views, but how we articulate those views is important in a modern democracy, in discourse and in how that is reflected on social media. I know the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill is weaving its way through the Oireachtas, but there is so much more we can do in that space. It will be a significant challenge. From having spoken to women going for seats in election and from many engagements over recent months, sometimes they do not have that extra confidence to go forward and put a name on the ballot paper because they are afraid of that extra scrutiny or that they will not know everything from A to Z.

One lady, quoting another individual who recently spoke, said that many mediocre men have been involved in politics through the years and to please give her the chance to vote for mediocre women. I thought that was a good line. We need to give women confidence. It is hard to be in politics but supports exist and are getting better. We need to encourage more women to get involved in politics. I will do anything I can to continue on that path.