Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will feed the information we have on that into the committee because it is important.

The local authorities already have a mandate to promote diversity and respect. That is an important point. I wish all new people coming into politics well. I will also mention ageism. I spoke recently to a principal a year after she retired who was active and high up in the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO. She was a principal of one of the biggest national schools in south County Dublin. She was a fundraiser for the GAA and immersed in her community through the TidyTowns competition. When she suggested she might go into politics, she was told she was past it. She told me she was 66 and had no chance. I told her she had all the qualities to make a wonderful local councillor. She asked how to network in and whether she was past it. Ageism is alive and well in politics, especially in local politics and we are hearing about people being asked to move on and make way. We want to keep good people in politics and we want to make space for new people coming into politics and that needs to be as diverse as possible. I come from a local authority, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, that has 40 members, half of them, 20, are women and 20 are men. That is remarkable and I acknowledge how the councillors and the staff collaborate and work with one another.

I genuinely wish the witnesses well and ask them to continue with their good work. I will offer one piece of advice. Ms Gleeson was right when she stated earlier that people need to get out there. It is initially a little bit about the brand and name recognition. That is the reality. People want to vote local. They want contact with local people who are part of the community and are accessible. I wish them well in their work.