Chair of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus, Kildare Senator, Fiona O'Loughlin, officiated at the launch.
The Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament report has been launched by the Chair of the Oireachtas Women’s Caucus, Kildare Senator, Fiona O'Loughlin.
Senator O’Loughlin said “By its very nature, the Oireachtas is not a typical workplace and we need to see flexibility in our operations if we want to increase participation in public life.”
The Forum has been meeting since March.
One of the primary issues identified include "the lateness and unpredictability of hours" of the Houses of the Oireachtas, for members and staff.
The report says "This challenge is one of the hardest to address. COVID-19 has shown how significant changes can be implemented. As new post-COVID workplaces emerge, the Houses of the Oireachtas may wish to take advantage of some of those changes to create an effective and efficient parliament."
Senator O'Loughlin says "Ireland is an incredibly open and diverse society, and we need to see that diversity of background leading to diversity of thought within our decision-making processes. Diverse teams and organisation achieve better outcomes, and that is no different in politics.”
“Ensuring greater diversity within the Oireachtas will be key for the next phase of development in Ireland. We live in a more global and integrated international community, and we have one of the most sophisticated and educated workforces in the world, who are at the cutting edge of industry in terms of tech, finance, aviation, and scientific research. But there is a significant urban to rural divide, and the only way to marry these two, and prepare us for the future, is to diversify our political representatives.”
As Chair of the Oireachtas Women's Caucus, I attended the launch of the #familyfriendly and #inclusive parliament forum report. We've been working on making our parliament more inclusive and accessible for members and staff, which is key to encouraging more #women into politics pic.twitter.com/161o5PLjOC
— Senator Fiona OLoughlin (@Fiona_Kildare) November 2, 2021
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