Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I appreciate that. Some men are better at it than others, as are some women. My political opponents might say I am not great at it, but I think I am all right. However, women seem to have a lower threshold and do not listen to as much of this kind of talk as their male counterparts.

This raises again the issue of child care in the broader sense. Child care will remain a cultural impediment or barrier to women's entry into politics until we have paternity leave which will allow us mould our men into seeing child care as not just a women's prerogative or issue. Child care must be seen as a family issue where both parents should be involved in the upbringing of the children. Both parents should change the nappies, do the homework, prepare the lunches, etc. It is all very well to say we have a crèche but that does not really help. Even if a woman gets somebody in to help with the housework, she will not be in a position to employ a person full-time. Men must step up to the mark and put the washing into the washing machine, hang it out on the line, cook the dinner etc. I am lucky my husband is practically a gourmet cook and I am, largely, banned from the kitchen. However, I would not be able to do what I do without the support of my mother who steps up to the mark at times to mind my children for me when I have to attend funerals and do constituency work.

I do not find the work here a barrier, but I have made that choice. However, there are some traditionalists and fundamentalists in society who do not see the role of a politician as being properly fulfilled by a woman. This is a cultural barrier which brings us to the most important of the five Cs, namely, culture. Ireland has a traditionalist, patriarchal society and until we change that, we will never see full equality. Many of our traditionalists do not see a woman politician as someone whom they would like to contact. I often get phone calls from people who apologise for bothering me. Before I had children, I did not get that. Constituents used not apologise for ringing me, but now they do. They do not want to bother me, but they have a problem. If I choose to be a politician or an astronaut, that is the decision I make as an individual and whatever decisions I need to make around that are my own. It is the hypocritical, more traditionalist, Roman Catholic view here that says we should not have women politicians, like saying we cannot have women priests. For years, these people presided over abuse of children, but they still turn around and say a woman's place is in the home minding her children. This does not make sense. It is none of their business if I choose to be a working mother who wants to go out and try to make a difference and at the same time rear a family. I do not believe either of my children suffer because I am not around some of the time. I do my best to make up to them the time I miss with them. Perhaps I do not laze around pubs as much as male politicians listening to the order of the day and might miss out on some gossip by not doing that. Most working mothers, whether politicians or not, must and do make sacrifices. We have equality in our educational system but we need to make the quantum leap from equality in colleges, universities and schools, where we often see women outperforming men, to a position where women participate rather than opt out and let men make decisions for them. That is what we have currently - a system where men make decisions. We will see change, possibly in my lifetime, but I do not know how quickly it will come about.

Previously, I mentioned Croke Park on all-Ireland day. It is always full and the people attending are delighted with the carnival atmosphere. However, on all-Ireland day for camogie or women's football, it is difficult to fill even one stand. The point was made during discussion of the report in the joint committee that the media has a role to play in this regard by promoting women. Senator Bacik has alluded to advertising and trying to enhance the image of a female politician or businesswoman.