7th January 2014
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
UCC student, Jessica Ní Mhaoláin, has been elected as the new Women’s Rapporteur for Ógra Fianna Fáil.
The 22-year-old student is in her final year of a degree in Public Health at UCC and was elected to the position at a recent meeting of Ógra Fianna Fáil’s National Council meeting. She is also the chair of the Donogh O’Malley Cumann in UCC.
“I was absolutely delighted to have been elected Women’s Rapporteur for Ógra Fianna Fáil at our last National Council meeting. As I’ve said before, getting women involved in politics is something I’m extremely passionate about and I’m really excited about working closely in the coming months with the Ógra central officer board to achieve this.
“It’s important for women to be involved in politics because they have something to contribute – not just for the sake of it. When women take an interest in politics, they make a hugely valuable contribution.
“I will endeavour to ensure that Fianna Fáil follows the recommendations made in our own gender equality policy, and I’m glad I will be part of implementing this in Ógra. For a party with such strong associations with women like Constance Markievicz, Averil Power and Mary O’Rourke, it’s up to us to show other parties just how important it is to take women in politics seriously. It’s also important for women to take other women seriously – the idea of sisterhood is something severely lacking in Irish politics and needs to be addressed.”