MICHEAL MARTIN

Fianna Fail

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Absolutely — as a republican, one of my core values is equality and creating a society where everyone can reach their full potential. When I look at my own children, particularly as they begin their careers, I am committed to fighting for a society where my daughter has the same opportunities as her brothers.

As a nation, we have taken strides to address inequality between men and women, but a lot remains to be done.

As a politician and party leader, I am committed to working towards a fairer Ireland. What has been your biggest achievement for women’s equality to date?

I strongly believe the 32nd

Dail was correct in holding a referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment.

Voting in favour of repealing the provision was not an easy decision for me. As more and more women came forward to tell their stories, I had to examine myself and my own conscience. I couldn’t get past the question — who am I to impose upon those women an obligation to proceed and have the baby?

Fianna Fail has a proven record in providing leadership in the field of equality legislation. I am proud to have been a part of the Fianna Fail government which brought in the ground-breaking Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts. What is the most important change that you want to achieve for women’s equality if elected as Taoiseach?

The under-representation of women in political life undoubtedly contributes to gender inequality.

The case for greater female representation is clear: greater female representation would improve the quality of decisionmaking and would deliver more effective representation for women voters.

Of the TDs elected in

2016, 136 of them had been councillors at some point in their careers, which amounts to 86pc of TDs.

We cannot possibly expect to increase female representation in the Dail on a sustained basis if we do not introduce gender quotas in local elections.

I am committed to introducing gender quotas in local elections.

I have heard from countless women who are deeply frustrated by the lack of availability of high-quality, affordable childcare.

If elected Taoiseach, I will make it my goal to build a childcare system that provides high-quality and dependable childcare to all Irish families.

This would go a long way in assisting women to reach their potential in the workplace. Will you commit to having a gender-balanced cabinet? Fianna Fail is running more women than any other party in this General Election.

All six of our female TDs are running again, and we have another 20 female candidates. A lot of these are very strong candidates, that would bring a lot to the table.

For example, Catherine Ardagh has a strong legal background; Sandra Farrell has experience in the healthcare system. We hope that as many women as possible are elected and I would, of course, aim to have a gender-balanced cabinet if returned as Taoiseach.