Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming in to discuss this all-important topic. I acknowledge the presence of the ambassador, H.E. Trevor Mallard. He is very welcome. To carry on from what Senator Doherty said, the theme of today is embracing equity. She referred to the fact that not everybody starts in the same place. We are very privileged to be here in Seanad Éireann and that we can come in that door every single day but there are so many people from different backgrounds, as has been said by Senator Flynn, and others. It is about embracing those people. Some people have a higher profile but there are people like our mothers, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends and family. We need to embrace them and make sure we all stick together to have a stronger society. Today is about celebrating women's rights and bringing attention to issues such as gender equality and the social, economic, cultural and political advancement of women. I firmly believe that.

The announcement today of the referendum in November is very positive news. In his speech, the Minister referred to building on the framework that was in the women and girls document and said he was going to review that and do some work on it. This is a very welcome announcement.

I refer to women in sport. It was absolutely fantastic when the women's football team qualified to go to the World Cup in Australia but some people dismissed it and said "Oh, sure that is the women's team". We need to get past that. Women have the same rights as men. Whether they are playing on a women's team, a mixed team or a men's team, we should all be supporting the Irish team.

Regarding women in politics, we are all privileged to be involved in politics. We are all privileged to be here. While the numbers are very strong here in the Seanad, they are quite low in the Dáil. We need to look at what the issues are and what is stopping women from going into politics. There are quotas, especially within the parties, to encourage participation but many women are afraid to put their heads above the parapet because of the abuse and comments they get.I mean no offence to the gentlemen in the room, but I believe that females get a higher percentage of comments and derogatory remarks. Everybody should be equal, which means embracing equity so that we all have the same rights and the opportunity to have our say. Some supports need to be put in place in that whole area to encourage female participation. We have the different organisations the Government funds to encourage women to participate but if we do not put in place the proper supports and legislation to protect women, we will not have enough females coming forward. I thank the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, for coming to the House.