Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for allowing me to speak. I wish to make a few brief comments. Some 30 years ago medicine, the profession in which I am involved, was as male dominated, as macho and with as long hours as politics today. Some aspects of medicine have changed quite radically. Surgery is still very much male dominated with long hours and with the same macho culture but other parts of medicine have changed quite radically, especially general practice and where doctors work as physicians in hospitals.

How did that come about? It did not come about because anybody wanted to change the system but because the education system put 75% women into medical schools. Therefore, the doctors graduating were, in the main, women and the system had to change to fit in with the graduates. That is the way it happened. Nobody set out to change medicine to make it more family friendly.

That is the main issue here. It is not about gender; it is about who is responsible for family. What makes many women in medicine change their career options is not that they cannot handle the long hours and working weekends but the fact they have commitments to their family. That is why they often go into branches of medicine which are more family-friendly. The system only changed because of the large number of women coming into medicine. There was no other driver.

Politics is the same. It is a macho profession and it is all about long nights, staying up all night at meetings, going to games and doing clinics. Unfortunately, nothing will change in the foreseeable future unless we make active changes to the system. Active changes mean changes to increase women's participation in politics because that will be the driver to make politics more family friendly.

What happens when more women are involved in politics is that there is more discussion on social issues rather than on purely economic issues or issues which people believe are important. The way politics is delivered changes when there is more active participation by both genders. However, that will not happen by accident. I do not believe the political system will change dramatically. The only way we will effect change is by actively placing women in roles of responsibility, both elected and non-elected, in the political system. If this is done, the ethos in politics will change significantly. Failing this, however, there will not be any change.

The use of quotas and list systems can lead to change in the system. Rather than talking about change, however, we must proactively make changes. Significant problems must be surmounted to achieve greater active participation in politics. The political structure is not family friendly. During my time as a Member of the other House I found politics an incredible burden. I had three young children at the time and found that considerable effort was required to try to balance being a politician and a parent of young children. In addition, my wife runs a general practice. Politics can place incredible stress on family life.

I have not noted even the remotest interest among voters or political leaders in dramatically changing the current system. As politicians, we must try to actively encourage change. Senator Fitzgerald indicated that change was taking place during her time on the National Women's Council, but we appear to have hit a brick wall. It is time to reactivate positive action to change our mindset and ensure women will want to become involved in politics.