Ms Ciara McHugh:

I want to address what has been said about putting measures in place for the people who are already here. That is a really valid point. A good thing to do is to look internationally. The Labour Party in the UK, for example, had a strategy called MotheRED, whereby it funded childcare for women running for local elections all over the UK. It was something that was intended to break down that barrier because it was levelling the playing field for women to get in and for them to be able to make changes.

Mention was made of the onus being on political parties, but that is something that needs to be looked into as well, not just when people are in the door but how we open the doors to them.