Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)

He might not any more. Politics is a career and lifestyle choice for men and women. We need to look behind those figures and see how we can address the structure of a political career to open it up to women. It is not the case that big bad political parties are dominated by men in smoke-filled rooms conspiring to lock out women. That is not the case. In my own county, only one woman offered to stand for my party in the most recent local elections. She stood for election, but she was the only woman candidate. Should we penalise political parties who do not nominate women candidates? It may be that women do not offer to stand. There is a fundamental question over the lifestyle and career demands and constraints of this job. We need to have a debate about that and to look at the structures. I am in favour of any change that improves gender balance. We have to have it.

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