Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the wonderful recognition that Vótáil 100 brings to women's suffrage. It is only 100 years ago that women were given the vote. That extended democracy in Ireland and we should all be proud of and acknowledge the role played by those women. We owe those leading lights a huge debt of gratitude.

I think today of one my relatives, Eithne Coyle, who was a leading activist in Cumann na mBan and a member of the Gaelic League. From Falcarragh in County Donegal, she was a republican activist and visionary who set the tone for the Ireland we have today. We are very grateful for people like that.

We have great Irish women here now. Some of them are in the Seanad Chamber today, playing their role. Politics is a difficult place for women. There are some great women councillors but we could have more if politics was a more forgiving career path and it is not always that way. I agree with Senator Mullen that, even in the Houses of the Oireachtas, it is very difficult for a woman, for instance, from a rural part of the country to have to commute to Dublin. We have to be more forgiving. That is an area that needs to be addressed, as does the pay equality issue for women. Maybe women can provide even better for society than we can. If my wife is any reflection of that, I am sure she provides than even I do.