Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened to what Senator Boyhan said. The Minister of State has introduced a progressive Bill. I ask him to consider what Senator Boyhan said. I worked full time for 12 years when I was a councillor. I know other councillors who are full-time councillors. I was lucky to have the support I had from my wife, family, circle of friends and party to be able to do what I did. I am not sure if other people would be able to do that. I remember my wife writing speeches or press releases for me when sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea after the kids went to bad. There are probably many councillors who have good relationships and support from family and friends, as well as their parties. I could pick up the phone to Mick Nugent and others, tell them I was thinking of doing something, and ask what they thought of it. Many people do not have that support. The Minister of State talked about bringing forward administration support. Should the Minister of State look at that? Trying to encourage more people to get involved in local politics is a challenge. The local elections are coming up fast. Some people will go forward, but are they the right people? Are they the diverse people who are needed? A social media Bill is progressing through the Dáil. Horrific comments and threats were made, especially to women.

We need to make politics as accessible as possible and to encourage more people to get involved. I encourage the Minister of State to do that. I imagine he will have support to push through new regulations. We have a challenge ahead. Politics is getting harder. Sometimes that is our own fault and we can be very adversarial. There are lessons for us too. To get more people involved, we have to make it easier and to encourage people.