A 19-year-old Waterford woman made history today as she took over Taoiseach Micheál Martin's office to mark International Day of the Girl.
European Studies student Mairéad Butler was invited to take his seat to see what the role would be like for a female going where no woman has gone before.
Since the foundation of the State in 1922, no woman has answered to the title of Taoiseach. After inviting her to take a seat in his chair, Mairéad said to the Taoiseach he may have a hard time getting her out of it.
Standing in the Taoiseach’s office beside Mr Martin, Mairéad said: "I think it is shocking that in the history of the State we don’t have a female Taoiseach.
"Like there are so many young women and young girls around Ireland that look at an office like this, it seems really far away, it seems achievable."
She said that the Dáil and the office of the Taoiseach should be representative of wider Irish society in gender, ethnicity, race and religion.
The Taoiseach said it is "unusual" that no woman has occupied the office in Ireland and said "I think it will happen in Ireland".
When speaking about barriers for women, he said he had the greatest concern for the impact of social media abuse. He said it was a dark cloud that was intimidating for people getting into the field.
Mr Martin also said he thinks the voting system of PR-STV (proportional representation with a single transferrable vote) can be a barrier for women, as the constituency field is competitive.
He also said that when working in politics at a constituency level, it can be hard for anyone to work on a national profile.
The Taoiseach also spoke about maternity leave, which first taken this year by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. He said it needs to be more normalised, for women to participate fully in politics.
The 15th Taoiseach of Ireland encouraged Mairéad to get into the business of politics, but warned that "it's hard work", and she hopes she can be a future Taoiseach.
Marking International Day of the Girl, the university student had the ear of the Taoiseach to raise issues from Plan International.
Plan International's Girls Takeover events have been taking place across the world today to mark International Day of the Girl, which has been a UN Day of Observance since 2012.
The takeovers give girls and young women the opportunity to step into the shoes of leaders in politics, business, and other sectors, especially in positions traditionally dominated by men.
Every.
— UNICEF Ireland (@unicefireland) October 11, 2021
Single.
Girl.
Has.
The.
Right.
To.
Chase.
Her.
Dreams.
And.
Succeed.
This #DayOfTheGirl and every day, let's continue breaking gender stereotypes and help build an equal world. 💪 pic.twitter.com/MoV6IqSOvJ
They also allow girls and young women to bring issues of importance to them and their peers to leaders and decision makers and call for change.
Mairéad spoke to the Taoiseach about the many challenges still facing girls and young women in Ireland and around the world.
She informed the Taoiseach about the report launched today by Plan International, KnoWhere To Go, which details the extent of sexual and reproductive health misinformation young people in Ireland are encountering.
Finally, she talked to the Taoiseach about the positive impact Ireland’s overseas aid programme is having on the lives of millions of girls in some of the poorest regions of the world.
