Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister, Deputy Madigan, to the House and acknowledge the enormous amount of work she has done and her contribution to the Vótáil 100 celebrations, which I will later address. As I was coming to the House today, it struck me that it is hard to believe that 1918 was the first time for Irish women to be permitted by law to vote and stand in parliamentary elections.Those 100 years tell us something of the journey we have had. 1918 was also the year in which the first woman was elected to the British Parliament at Westminster, Countess Markievicz who represented a Dublin constituency. She never took her seat in Westminster, instead she joined the revolutionary First Dáil to become the first female TD. To mark the centenary, the Houses of the Oireachtas are hosting a programme of events that will highlight the history of the suffrage movement, its leaders in Ireland and their impact on wider voting rights. I acknowledge the work particularly of Senator Ivana Bacik and all the team involved in the preparations and plans for the Vótáil 100 programme. It is an imaginative and collaborative piece of work and an amazing programme, and I wish it success.

I take this opportunity to salute the women in local government, in Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, and in government and acknowledge the enormous work they have done. As someone who played a major role in local government for many years, I realised from very early on coming into politics that the female candidates who competed with male candidates in my own neck of the woods certainly had a harder job. When I got to speak to them they told of the difficulties of getting through selection conventions and of then getting elected, but once they were elected and had a mandate and a platform, they excelled. They got that opportunity and were there to do the work. That is an important point.. However, there were many women who never got that opportunity.

I do not want to let this opportunity pass without mentioning the Magdalen women, to whom Senator Conway-Walsh referred. It is important we remember them. Among that group there were many bright, able ambitious women. There were people who had dreams, expectations and a desire to make a contribution to our society. They, for whatever reason, were judged, many of them were condemned, many were denied an opportunity to be authentic, to realise their potential and play a role in their communities because many of them were driven out of their communities, particularly in rural communities, and had to come to this city to hide their secrets, or as some would say, their shame. They carried that to the end.

I met a woman on a train in Charing Cross station in London a few months ago and I had previously met her in the late 1960s. She told me she had left this country from Dún Laoghaire Port with her child. She was not prepared to give up her child and she left. At that time she was a nurse studying in Dublin. She said: "I never could come back. I felt ashamed. I felt my dirty. My own family deserted me." She had potential and wanted to do everything she could but had no choice. She said that in the end she was rewarded because she held on to her son and watched him grow up, and that was important to her. It was never men who paid the price. Very many women who wanted to keep their children, which was their given and absolute right, were forced out of this country. Of course, it is right that they should have been able to do that. When we talk about women and our history, we have to remember and question what happened then.

However, there are other things happening today, to which we turn a blind eye. Why do we see so many young children on our streets homeless? Why do we see so many young vulnerable girls? What are we doing about it now? What have we learned from the past? That is an important point.

I met a girl outside the gates of Leinster House today who was coming in here on a tour. She told me she is 16 years old and that she would love to be in politics. I asked her what was stopping her. I told her I was glad she was here today and that hopefully she would learn something about our Parliament and the Houses of the Oireachtas. Why are we not giving young women and men, who are citizens, a vote at 16 years of age? It was for a long time a great policy objective of Fine Gael. Young Fine Gael people came to me a year ago and told me they expected Fine Gael to pursue the 16 year old voting age objective. I leave that suggestion with all the parties here. Why are we not championing the right of young women and men to engage and to vote? We sought votes for women but why would we not have young women and men of 16 years of age engaged in politics? Why would we not be brave and courageous enough now in the lead up the next local elections to allow our young 16 and 17 year olds at least to first step into the process of local government and allow them vote in the local elections? That is an important point.

While many women never accomplished the great heights of Countess Markievicz or of the women who are Members of the Seanad or the Dáil or those who are in government, there are women throughout our community and country who are wonderful advocates for social change. They are champions for their communities, their families and for rights. I was a member of St. Patrick's juvenile detention centre visiting committee for many years. I was struck by the fact that I always saw women at the door talking about their sons who were detained there. I rarely came across a man there. I acknowledge the great work of a group of women involved in the Quakers, the Society of Friends, who set up a link service. The support service for women was located in a prefab outside that prison to facilitate women who wanted to champion the cause of penal reform in terms of fair rights and justice for their sons. That is an important aspect. It is also important to acknowledge the power of women and the powerfulness of their engagement in advocacy that history has taught us.

I congratulate all the people involved here, particularly the women and those who spoke here today, on their great achievements. The work is not done yet, they need to keep going. I wish the very best of luck to all involved and thank them for organising the Vótáil 100 programme.