I support Senator Bacik's call for a debate on gender equality. When the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced his new cabinet it was 50% male and 50% female. When he was asked why he had done that, he said, "because it's 2015".

There could be no better answer than that and he is right. Moreover, others may soon follow his fine example. I am not familiar with his politics and do not know what else he may do, will do or has promised to do, but that is a good start. Despite the welcome gender quota legislation which started its passage in this House and, of course, has led to some difficulties, although not really that many, there will continue to be a debate required about gender equality and it would be appropriate for Members to have it in this House.

I add my voice in support of the announcement on rents and the difficulties of homelessness. The encouraging of builders to build where houses specifically are needed in Cork and Dublin is welcome, as, of course, is the freeze on rent reviews for four years in order that they do not take place within a single year but over a two-year period, as well as the various other measures. I pay tribute to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, his team and the Government as a whole for persisting in dealing with what is a complex matter.

I also welcome the announcement to be made this afternoon by the Government on the new jobs plan for the next three years, in which 266,000 jobs have been programmed or promised. Moreover, although people stated it would not happen, 120,000 jobs have already been created in the past three years. If the Leader considers that it is at all possible, I seek an opportunity to have a debate on this issue because while it has been successful, this new plan concentrates on regionality. For people like me who live in the north west, it is required urgently that we focus on the regions and that locations in the Dublin-Cork-Galway triangle, if one likes, not be the only places in which jobs can be introduced or encouraged. I acknowledge that Senator Ivana Bacik has referred to the shortage of time, but if there is an opportunity to have a debate on the new plan being launched today, I would welcome having such a debate.

In the light of the comments made by Senators Ivana Bacik and Susan O'Keeffe, I recommend to Members of all genders that they see the movie "Suffragette" which is being shown in Irish cinemas. It traces in a fictional way, albeit with a factual background, the struggle of women in the earlier part of the last century to achieve the vote. While people now take this for granted, the movie is a timely reminder of the harassment and persecution of women by the British establishment, as well as in Ireland where there were active suffragettes. Meryl Streep plays a cameo role as Emmeline Pankhurst who, of course, was the leader of the suffragettes. While it is an educational movie in one sense, it is also highly entertaining and deeply moving. In the context of the earlier remarks, I highly recommend that if Members are planning to go to the cinema, they see "Suffragette".

My main reason for contributing is to welcome the statement made by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, on the ongoing discussions on whether certain sports events should be listed for terrestrial viewing. I found his statement interesting in the light of the success of TV3 in literally wresting from RTE the rights to show the Six Nations rugby internationals from 2018 onwards, which goes to show how competitive the television landscape in Ireland has become. However, in the light of that development, the Minister made a statement earlier this year that he was considering the designation of three sports events as being free to air, in other words, to ensure Irish television viewers would not be obliged to pay to watch them. There are quite a number of sports events so designated such as the all-Ireland football finals. However, it is interesting that of the three he is considering, one is the aforementioned Six Nations championship, but the other two are women-based, one being the senior ladies football final and the other the senior camogie final. I call on the head of sport in RTE, Ryle Nugent, to try to change the policy of RTE television specifically, rather than RTE radio, whereby every newscast, particularly at the weekend, starts with the results of English premier league matches. Last Sunday was a particular example. If the Cathaoirleach will indulge me for one moment, I attended the Connacht senior ladies football final in the wonderful facilities of Kilglass outside Rooskey, County Roscommon, where Kilkerrin-Clonberne of County Galway played Kiltubrid of County Leitrim, the Leitrim senior champions based down the road from where I live. Not a single line appeared in the television sports results that night about the Connacht provincial decider, but all of the Premiership results were given first. I do not suggest they should not be given, but they were given first, followed by all of the domestic sports results, excluding the result of the women's football game. This is not the first time this has happened and, as the national broadcaster, RTE should take on the responsibility and be more inclusive in the results it broadcasts on air. It is not simply because it happened to involve a team from my home county; this is a consistent policy in RTE.

The Senator is way over time.