Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On a historic note, the Taoiseach probably knows that this is the year of Vótáil 100 commemorating women getting the vote and women being elected to Parliament. There were lovely photographs of the Taoiseach and his British counterparts in all the newspapers. There was a particularly divine one in The Irish Timesof six men on the Republic of Ireland side as though nothing has changed since the British left, and three women and two men on the UK side. In the year that is in it and given the nearly €6 million being spent on the Government's media communications unit this year, could we ensure gender sensitivity when it comes to delegations? It was not beyond the wit of Ireland to have had two or three women on that delegation and at that meeting. As the Government arranges these photo opportunities so meticulously, what happened yesterday? I would really like an explanation.

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