Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will keep it very short and sweet because An Cathaoirleach is being very kind allowing me to come in here. I am solely dependent on public transport, so I apologise. I will look back to read Ms Hinds’s comments.

First, I extend my thoughts to Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell and his family.

I thank Ms Hinds for her thorough contribution. It was very interesting to read and to hear her speak on it today. I would love to see something similar to the Women’s Coalition in today’s politics. I attended the For Peace and Prosperity event organised by IBEC for International Women’s Day where we heard from Liz O’Donnell and Mary Harney. The main takeaway was that we should solely focus on reconciliation and progress all all-island collaboration and connections based on human rights and the common good for all, such as the all-island cancer strategy. I thank the Women’s Coalition for pushing back on language and behaviour in particular and for being very brave and pushing against the norms such as sitting at the tables of political parties. These were very brave acts and simple measures to take. I am sure those actions at the time sent a strong message. I would love to hear more on that and how we female politicians can replicate those kinds of actions now.

Hypothetically, had a group of women such as themselves had not been present and were not able to make the difference in the way they did, how would negotiations have gone?