Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak on the important occasion of International Women's Day. I am even more delighted to be following my good friend from college, Deputy Higgins. We have soldiered together for a long time as politicians and friends. There are three areas on which I will briefly focus. I could speak for an hour on each of them, as could many others in the House.

The first relates to the report commissioned by the Ceann Comhairle from the forum tasked with examining how the Oireachtas can be made more family-friendly. I was very lucky to be part of that body, along with other Members and people from outside the House. I want to use this time to say to the Government and the Ceann Comhairle that it is imperative that the many instances of low-hanging fruit recommended for action within the report are seized upon rapidly and the changes made very quickly, not just to make the Oireachtas a more friendly place for families of all shapes, sizes and formats but particularly for women. A recommendation I was very keen on relates to privilege at committees. There is no need for people to travel from outside Dublin on a Tuesday simply to speak at a committee meeting when they could participate remotely and have an extra day at home before they need to come here. That would make a huge difference. It would not amount to a massive change for the operation of the Oireachtas but would be a massive change for the individuals concerned. There are some 53 recommendations in the report but much of the change needed comes down to the culture of the Oireachtas. To be frank, much of that culture is not conducive to encouraging more women to go into politics. A great deal of it comes down to the back-and-forth nature of politics, which certainly has changed a bit in my short time in politics but not quickly enough.

A related point is the issue of mentoring. This may not be something for which specific provision can be made but it needs to be offered to new Oireachtas Members. When someone approaches any of us with an interest in getting involved in public life, regardless of which party they are interested in or if they want to be an Independent representative, we have a duty, as Oireachtas Members, to encourage them, particularly if they are young women or girls. I was very lucky that I had a former Deputy, Olivia Mitchell, as my mentor. I worked in her office for five years and am lucky to have counted her as a friend for more than 20 years. She walked every highway and byway of Dublin South, now Dublin Rathdown, with me right up to the most recent general election. If it were not for her mentorship, I do not think I would be here and, I would argue, nor would my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. This is an issue to which we all should give attention. The next time we get an email or telephone call from a young or not so young person asking for a week's work experience or an internship, we need to consider how we can make that easier and whether we may need to go out of our way to make it happen. I have in mind one intern who went on to have very different politics from mine. I will not say which party he ended up working for but its Members are not sitting on this side of the House. I was happy to take him on as an intern and teach him the intricacies of how to put a poster on a lamp post. We need to do more of that, particularly for young women and girls. Politics should not be intimidating for anyone.

Another issue I feel very seriously about is that when it comes to issues that are perceived as women's issues, we, as the men in this House - unfortunately, there are a lot more men than women - need to take ownership and responsibility to break down some of the stigma, talk about the issues that affect the women in our lives and being their voices into this Chamber. Earlier today, on the Order of Business, my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, raised the need for a national endometriosis strategy. This is an illness that is impacting many women, particularly those around my age. They are dealing with an extremely painful condition and sometimes are left bereft by the news that they will never be able to bear children. We must bring their stories to this House and put pressure on the Government to follow the lead of other countries in this regard.

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There is a need for a greater focus on a publicly funded fertility system. I am starting to hear a lot about this from my peer group or age group.

My last point, which is on the issue of postnatal depression, is very much personal in that it has affected my home after the birth of both of my kids. We must normalise the discussion on mental health. Deputy Mark Ward has done so much in this area. The men in this Chamber should know the signs of postnatal depression in their partners, wives, daughters and friends, but they should also be comfortable talking about it. When identified, there are supports. It should not matter what one's postcode, background or family circumstances are. As a society and, more importantly, as a political collective, we must talk about these issues frankly in the Chamber. These are issues that we do not need to score political points on. These are issues on which we should all have a collective will. Trying to fit all of these issues into a five-minute debate once a year is fine but they should be raised every day we have the privilege of being in here.

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