Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire, cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Minister of State to the House again. We have previously had very constructive engagements with the Minister, Deputy Harris, and I appreciate the Minister giving me a hearing on those occasions. I am glad to have the opportunity to address the Minister of State on International Women's Day and thank Senator Dolan for her gracious gesture in sharing time with me. It is good to see acts of collegiality and solidarity between female Members of the Oireachtas who are, after all, a minority.

Regarding the Commencement matter, it is important to allow everybody to flourish and to give people the opportunity to flourish in their fields, regardless of their sex or gender. I support the principles of equality of opportunity and egalitarianism. If women aspire to pursue a career in academia or research, they should be encouraged and supported in doing so. There should be no barriers to women entering the world of academia and research and no glass ceilings. I would, however, voice a note of caution about going too far down the road of social engineering, positive discrimination, gender quotas and equality of outcome. Surely, we want talent to be selected on merit. It would be awful to have people regarded as a mere token, as simply being there to fill a quota or as having been hired to allow an employer to signal virtue or for a person to be given a post because there is a financial incentive for the employer or institution in question. I acknowledge the brilliant work of women in teaching and research at every level in every setting.