Alison O’Connor: Amid rare unanimity in Dáil, Martin can lead change on gender equality

Change is required all the way through from the early days in school up to the Cabinet table

What a legacy it would be to put in place the rock-solid foundations of a transformed State approach to female safety in Ireland that would begin early on in the lives of children and extend its way out all across levels of society. Picture: Gareth Chaney / Collins Photos

There is nothing like a deadline to focus the mind. Add to that the beginning of the year stuff and its attendant resolutions, and you have a whole other layer of thought. So it’s easy to imagine a seriously high level of contemplation being done by Micheál Martin — a man who will no longer be our Taoiseach this time next year.

There is a strong chance he will no longer be leader of Fianna Fáil either, so it is deadline on the double time. A man who entered politics around 37 years ago, and has been climbing that greasy ladder ever since, can now count in months the amount of time left before he faces a virtually inevitable full stop.