Dan Boyle (Green Party)

On behalf of the Green Party, Comhaontas Glas, I express sympathy on the passing of the former Senator and Deputy Kit Ahern. I was struck by two factors from reading media notices of her passing. The first one is the reputation she — having lived to the age of 92 — seemed to have maintained in the Kerry area well after she had exited public life. The second factor is a personal one. She finished elected public office at the election I first participated in as a voter; there is probably close to 50 years between us. For her to have maintained such a reputation among the people she served is a recommendation in its own right and anyone involved in public life should strive to attain that. Some people look for baubles from their activities in pubic life but her example is a better one to live by. On finishing elected public office, she maintained her involvement in public life. By her actions and words she made herself known in terms of her views on the nature of politics and how she believed she could contribute as an individual, despite not holding public office.

Another area should be further acknowledged before we conclude these expressions of sympathy. In a political system where women continue to be under-represented, she was active at a time when female Members in this and the other House numbered no more than single figures. To have operated in such an environment and to have ploughed a furrow for the slow and steady progress that has since been achieved should serve as an indicator of how much remains to be done in this area. Particular tribute must be paid to a parliamentarian who played a role in advocating the need for women to be more actively involved in public life. Her passing presents us with a challenge to ensure the level of female participation in politics is improved as quickly as possible.