Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I wish to call on the Leader again to organise a debate on Ukraine. At the moment, things are at a very difficult stage. I commend the Tánaiste, Deputy Gilmore, for calling in the Russian ambassador yesterday to make clear Ireland's view that a peaceful resolution is essential. Anyone who saw the extraordinary footage last night of the unarmed Ukrainian soldiers bravely confronting heavily armed Russian troops in an attempt to take back their bases on their own territory in Crimea, will know just how commendably the Ukrainian armed forces are responding. They are not being provoked by the extreme provocation they are facing from Putin's policies in Russia. We all very much hope that there will be a peaceful resolution. We also hope that the European summit this week will have an impact on Russian policy and that the Ukraine will manage to hold onto its territory.

Following the National Women's Council report, I also wish to ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the creation of a gender-balanced and women-friendly Oireachtas. My colleague, Senator Hayden, raised this issue yesterday. Many of us attended the launch by the National Women's Council of its publication entitled A Parliament of All Talents: Building a Women-Friendly Oireachtas, which features Senator Susan O'Keeffe. It was launched yesterday by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. The National Women's Council has done a huge amount of work in preparing this report which makes recommendations on how the Oireachtas could become more women-friendly, and how we could see more female parliamentarians coming forward.

The electoral amendment legislation we have passed, which provides for gender quotas, will have a transformative effect in the next general election in ensuring that we will see more women elected to the Dáil and hopefully also to the Seanad. The report's recommendations would make the Oireachtas a better place for all of us, both men and women, to work in. I previously put similar recommendations before the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges, and might do so again. Following discussions at the CPP, we could then have a debate to see how we can examine our own internal working procedures to make them more family-friendly.

I am also seeking a debate on diversity in the workplace generally. Yesterday, I attended the launch of a report by GLEN, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, supported by Ernst & Young and Trinity College. The excellent survey examines diversity in light of the experience of LGBT employees in the workplace. The survey of 600 employees describes their experiences of difficulties with coming out and discrimination at work. It commends employers who have managed to achieve a good experience of diversity in the workplace and who have benefited as a result. A lot of work has been done on the benefits to employers of ensuring inclusion and better diversity in the workplace. I am therefore seeking a general debate on diversity in the workplace, based on both reports.