TO SAY that the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, was in ripping good form yesterday barely describes the joy and vigour with which she threw her weight behind a new scheme to increase opportunities for women in the Garda.
In the months and weeks before the Lowry resignation, this Minister had the visage of an under-taker with toothache. She gave the impression she could start a row in an empty room and come out feeling insulted. But now the mood is upbeat: Nora, survivor. If it wasn't inappropriate, you could almost say she was taking no prisoners.
And so it was with alacrity that she rose in a Dublin restaurant yesterday to begin her address to a carefully gender-balanced audience, including some of the most senior gardai. She looked around at the group, which included the Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne.
"Imagine if I could stand up here and say `Madam Commissioner'," she said. His response was not heard in the laughter.
"I hope in the next few years, when Commissioner Byrne has his seven years done, someone will be able to stand up and say Madam Commissioner.
It doesn't look too likely, based on the senior ranks from which commissioners are usually drawn. All the deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners and chief superintendents are men. Of the 163 superintendents in the force, two are women. Five of the 254 inspectors, and 65 of the 1,858
sergeants, are women. At garda rank, 794 of 8,478 officers are female. Overall, women make up 8 per cent of the force.
The Minister was announcing the introduction to the force of an EU-sponsored programme called NOW - New Opportunities for Women - which includes seminars for Garda managers, trainers and female officers aimed at increasing awareness of equal opportunities.
It was wrong to suggest women could not cope with senior positions. "Believe me, I'm living proof that women can take the pressure that some of these jobs can hand you."
Mr Byrne said equality was "an area that we've got to take very, very seriously. We cannot pay lip-service to it. I think attitudes have changed within the force over the years, but we've a bit of a way to go yet".