Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Life is not as simple as it was, nor is society. When I was a young parent I was a victim of the marriage ban, as was Senator White. When I married I had to give up my job and I was tied to the house. Circumstances thankfully changed quite quickly after that, but I had made up my mind, or perhaps I was conditioned into believing, that the best way forward for my family and I was for me to stay at home. I did so for several years until my youngest child was in primary school.

Life was simple but it was not rosy. It was difficult to survive on one salary then. We took one holiday a year if we were very lucky and we had one car. Staying at home did not make life easy, but I believe now that it was a good time and a good opportunity made available to me. This is not to say anything about the mother who does not stay at home, about whom Senator Tuffy was concerned. She mentioned that Senator O'Rourke stated that the woman who stays at home is doing a better job of caring for her children than the mother who goes out to work.