Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was not on the premises so I could not speak until now. We have covered so much, I am not going to get the witnesses to repeat things. What was mentioned about Independents is interesting, speaking as an Independent Senator within an Independent Senator group who are all women. There is something there around the signal it sends and the signal that gets sent.

I have a specific question. I bring it up all the time because I think it is important. It is about support for people who are running. When you run, you might not win. We all know that when you run, you may have an unsuccessful first or second outing. One of the things I have always highlighted is that one of the reasons teachers run is they have a period of paid leave to run for election, regardless of whether they are successful. There is a set number of weeks - I think it is six; I am not sure - which they can take off to run. There is a reason many of the people who run are solicitors or self-employed. In many of the areas where women tend largely to be employed, they are more often likely to be employees. In many cases they are in the civil society, NGO or caring sectors, for example. In those situations, in terms of being able to say to your employer that you want to try this thing, to run, that you may or may not succeed but that you do not want to give up your job just to take that chance, will the witnesses comment on the importance of creating a culture where it is acceptable for people to run for public office and return to the role they may have had? We really saw the roll-on impact in the Seanad. The previous Seanad was nearly 30% women, but we had four or five group leaders who were women, including the Chair of this committee and me. It certainly contributed to a dynamic whereby there were many women in very clear roles in the Seanad. It did lead to a culture shift within the Seanad Chamber, which is now close to 40% women. There is a positive loop that happens in that regard when you get to a certain threshold.