Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief as I have to return to the education committee. I welcome the result of the referendum on Friday. When I cast my vote, I was definitely not expecting to see such a high turnout, nor was I expecting almost two thirds to vote "Yes". I campaigned throughout the day on Friday until 9 p.m., reminding people to vote on the way home from work. I definitely knew something was changing when men, the demographic we were all told we needed to worry about, were the ones passing us in their work vans, skip vans and articulated trucks, all beeping and giving us the thumbs up in support.

I had a conversation that evening with a friend of mine who had to travel. She asked me whether I really thought she would wake up the next day and be welcomed home. I realised there and then just how much the vote meant to so many women who did not feel at home in their own country for so long. I hope they now feel welcomed home.

I thank all the grassroots campaigners. I single out Deputy Clare Daly, who, as someone who has led campaigns like this, has been somewhat invisible in recent weeks on the platforms and screens but she has definitely been at the forefront for many years in pulling politicians into the conversation and thinking about equal access to healthcare for women in Ireland.