Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

-----I made a decision to resign my teaching post and set up a business to be able to commit myself to politics. Previously, I had been travelling three hours a day from Galway to my place of work in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. My constituency was Galway West, spanning west from my home in Oranmore, right through the city to Connemara and the islands. I knew I could not continue to be a lecturer in Limerick and run for politics, so I made a very significant decision and gave up a great deal. I set up a business and was elected to this House with some expertise in education and enterprise as well as a strong sense of social justice. Those are the issues I am committed to in politics. My aim is to do good by my county and country.

I did not enter the Seanad initially with a strong interest in local politics, rather a desire for change for the better nationally in terms of the direction of education and the development of creativity in children on foot of the gaps I had perceived in the system. I had been a county councillor en route, had learned a good deal about local politics and came to realise I had much to contribute locally.

All politicians, not just women, face a dilemma, namely, whether to be a parish pump representative or a national politician. There is a flaw in the electoral system because while this recession will not be fixed by parish pump politics, the electoral system is such that, unless local issues are taken care of, the politician will not be elected and will not have the opportunity to contribute in a national forum. As well as a debate on women in politics, we also need to look at the electoral system if we are to be serious about giving leadership. People have lost faith in politics and in the Government.

The other day in an all-boys' school, St. Joseph's Patrician College in Galway, or "the Bish", as it is known locally, a young boy asked me whether I believed our leaders in Government were insulted by the fact that advertisements were being taken out on television to say, in effect, "Get thinking and come up with ideas to save your country." I said I did not believe they were being insulted. The teacher intervened to say that he believed they were being insulted because that had never happened before.

I always believe there should be room for creativity. While I do not beat the drum for women in politics, none the less I am a woman in politics. What are the reasons for increasing women's participation? It is valid that women should have a strong role in politics since we make up 51% of the population, yet our level of participation is something like 13%, less than sub-Saharan Africa. Senator Corrigan said there were more women in politics in Iran and Iraq than in Ireland. Those are countries in which women are being put down and have to wear a burqa. Let us get a grip.

Why should women be involved in politics? The life experience of women is different. This is seen in the way we profile issues such as breast cancer, the need for BreastCheck, ovarian cancer, cervical smears, etc. We have had debates in the Seanad on stem cell research and, while men have a valid viewpoint, they will never experience the emotions women have in these areas. It is a different type of experience and we should embrace this, cherish it and say it is welcome. Women have a different viewpoint. Our brains and bodies are made differently. Let us take the male brain versus the female brain. On the left side of the brain is the language centre, and men have a very small section compared with women. The Senator is about to say perhaps that is why women like to talk more.