Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Notwithstanding what the Taoiseach has said, we all realise the difficulties the public service is facing in terms of reduced numbers across the board. We do not have, as yet, a number of women, particularly in senior posts, in the public service. We all accept that women are adversely affected by anything that may be seen to be not family friendly or favouring the area of work-life balance. Can the Taoiseach give us a serious undertaking that irrespective of the Haddington Road agreement and the pressures his Department is under, he will take the lead and ensure he has in his Department at least the same number of women availing of the opportunities for various part-time working arrangements into the future that he currently has? The Government is frequently accused of not having the sort of flexibility required to take on board such measures but maybe as we look to the future such measures are even more important than they were in the past. Again, I appeal to the Taoiseach to give us his personal assurance that these matters will be prioritised.

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