Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Craughwell for raising this issue and for his email. I received his email and in panic rang a friend who is an accountant to verify whether the issue raised by Senator Craughwell was true because it was not something that I had considered before. While I hope that at no stage will I need to claim social welfare, it is good to be mindful of the current situation.The cynics out there would listen to us and say that when a Government Senator and an Opposition Senator agree, it must be about entitlements for Members of the Oireachtas. I am wary of that so I imagine that the Minister would also be wary of that in considering amendments. In the context of such a fantastic Social Welfare Bill, which provides for an exceptional spend and investment in our State, to slip this in, which is what we would be accused of in the media, would be unwise. It certainly suggests that we need a much wider debate about attracting people into politics, retaining them and how we support them after they leave politics. I had the experience where a former Member of the House needed to be shown how to do up a curriculum vitae because the Member had been in politics since they were only so high. Probably their nappy was being changed while they were out on the road canvassing.

The point is incredibly well made that there is a disproportionate impact on women in politics. Attracting women into politics and retaining them, as the Minister so articulately said, is really the challenge. I am very fortunate that my husband never refers to baby-sitting our daughter. He has been the primary carer from the moment she was born and he is exceptional. I am fortunate that I am able to be here because I have someone at home who is doing that and parents who can visit me, so to speak, on Oireachtas TV. We need a debate. It would be wise for the House to ask the Leader to provide time for a discussion on the pathway to politics as a very noble career. All too often, politicians are pilloried, criticised and accused. We see lots of feeds on social media about corruption and brown envelopes when the history of politics in this country shows that an exceptionally small number of people have chosen a path of ill repute, while an exceptionally large number of people make great personal sacrifices. While we may differ on policy and ideology, there is no doubt regarding our sincerity in wanting to have a better country for all our citizens and that all of us come here basking in that privilege. We need a debate on this.

In Senator Craughwell's email to us asking for our support for this amendment, I learned a piece. I also learned something from Senator Higgins's contribution today with regard to voluntary contributions. This suggests that we probably need a wider campaign around understanding our entitlements. Fine Gael members distribute leaflets to constituents and areas entitled Know Where You Stand. The practice originated with Deputy Bruton. I have learned loads from that over the years but we probably need it at national level because when we have so many entitlements and there are so many things to access, we probably need it to be put down in a way that is reasonably accessible. I thank the Senator for commencing this debate, which needs to continue. I will be raising the matter again on the Order of Business and I think we all should. I will ask the Leader to facilitate a debate.