Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

An awful lot of ground has been covered. With the level of erudite debate, fire and passion and zealous commitment, the advocacy of women's rights has never been as strong in this country. Any young person, be it a boy or a girl, who witnesses this debate will be inspired by the respect, fire, passion and intelligence of the debate. Women's rights and the advocacy for same are in a safe good place. However, my fellow Senators would be the first to say that the Government will be judged on results on which I am quietly confident. That is an ongoing battle but we have brilliant people in the battle. I am privileged to be in this Seanad with extremely capable Senators and, by coincidence, the vast majority of them are women. I have not let Senator Conway with it as I am the second male Senator to make a contribution. Senator Clifford-Lee has a great background in this issue as does Senator Currie who spoke earlier.

The Seanad will be judged on results and I am quietly confident regarding this issue. We also has very fantastic debates when we agree to disagree. I am heartened to see the goodwill shown towards the Green Party motion and I commend my Green Party colleagues, Senators Pauline O'Reilly and Garvey. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett who, as a super junior Minister, while in the background is very supportive of the motion. It is a time and a country where men cannot be behind the door. I was heartened to hear the contribution made by Senator Conway, with which I fully concur and I concur with all of the other remarks. Well done to everyone on this small step in the right direction. The Green Party has a very vibrant women's movement, Mná Glasa, which will be very proud of the actions taken by Senators O'Reilly and Garvey. No one political party has ownership of this. As I have often said, it is counterproductive for one party to be associated as a monopoly when it comes to climate change and equally so with these issues that go to the heart of society, and how we value and treat people equally, how fair we are and how we protect human rights.

One Senator is missing today but I am sure that she is unavoidably absent but she had a fantastic deputy in Senator Hoey. I refer to Senator Ivana Bacik who has been at the forefront of this issue for many years, unlike myself. She has devoted her adult life to these causes. There is also Senator Alice-Mary Higgins. The Labour Party has not always been rewarded electorally but it deserves some credit for being on the right side of history, which is a good enough memory, karma and pride to have. That does not always translate to votes in an election box but this is much more important than that. The Irish Labour Party has been a beacon as I would like to think the same applies to the Green Party and many others. I say to those parties that have not been so strong on these issues in the past that we are into judgementalism. The late Brian Lenihan Snr. spoke about "the futility of consistency". People are entitled to change their minds and should be respected for same. We will have real progress in this country when all parties are onboard including Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I anticipate that the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, will make a very positive and uplifting address because I know his track record.