In particular, I believe that there should be a National Plan to build a Senior Citizens Village in every community so that no pensioner is without the option of a safe and secure home in their own community. This is not just an equality issue. The perceptions and contribution of women public representatives makes a huge difference to our political system. Society and Politics would be greatly enriched with more women Deputies and Senators. However, the current electoral system has too many impediments to achieving gender balance in public representation.
Radical measures are clearly necessary.
Ten years ago, when Fine Gael Environment Spokesperson, I proposed that we should adopt a list system of PR for local authorities and the Seanad and requiring that every second person elected is alternatively a man and a woman. Moreover, the Taoiseach's nominees to the Seanad should be gender balanced. Provision has been made in the Scandinavian political systems to address these issues and it is no coincidence that in these democracies the proportion of elected women public representatives is much closer to their share of the national population. We need to provide our young people with a real alternative to the drink culture. Significant improvements have been made in the standard of sports facilities but much more remains to be done.