Ms Rachel Coyle:

We need to name and address the barriers. We need to call out abuse when we see it and to support each other. Of course women are not confident because the way we have treated women since the foundation of the State has been abysmal. Deputy Murnane O'Connor mentioned Countess Markievicz. We do not hear much about her role after the Rising. Most women have just been written out of history here. That is a fact. I read somewhere that there have been more Johns and Seans in Dáil Éireann than women ever. Therefore, there is much work to do here.

The Deputy made a point on merit and women being on the ticket because they have earned it. Unfortunately, quotas are just one of those necessary evils. We need women candidates and need women to vote. In the recent local elections in the North, 31.8% of candidates who ran were women and 31% got elected. When women are on the ticket, they win and get elected. Unfortunately, the only way to get them on the ticket fast enough is through quotas. The pace of change to have parity is about five election cycles. That is 20 years, which is unacceptable. It is a generation. I just say, "Nothing about us without us". The proximity of local government decisions, in particular, to women's lives makes it all the more important for women to be involved.