Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Senator White referred to the experience of women in the grocery business, many of whom are buyers, including many of the senior buyers in my company. However, they are not there because they are women but because they are the best people for the job. They have earned their positions. No company I know of, including my own, has appointed women because they felt they had to but because they were the best people for the job. I am reluctant to tie a Minister's hands and to say that if suitably qualified candidates for a job were both male and female, the female must be appointed. The same applies in the other direction in that if the best person for the job was female, I would not like to find that we had restricted this area and that a female could not be appointed because somebody else was unable to get that job. The fewer restrictions in this area, the better.

I am impressed by what Senator Hayes said. However, if we are not reaching the level of40%, I do not understand how raising it to 50% would achieve anything, as Senator Mansergh pointed out. We should do our best to reach 40% before lifting the bar to another height.