Charlie Haughey plucked a female senator’s bra strap in Leinster House as he passed her in the corridor, a new book claims.
Former Education Minister Gemma Hussey revealed details in the book entitled Proud To Serve – The Voices Of The Women Of Cumann na nGaedheal And Fine Gael 1922–1992.
Ms Hussey said: “The next minute I felt a chuck on my bra strap.
“I leapt to my feet and there was Haughey behind me with a half-smile on his face.
“‘Just coming to tell you Senator, don’t worry about your Bill on marital rape. I’ll see that through with the help of my very good new Minister for Justice Sean Doherty.’’
Ms Hussey revealed the way things were amid the ongoing challenges women faced in politics.
She recalled: “The nearest loo was two floors down, the men had a room next door to the Cabinet room.”
Proud To Serve, which was written by Maria Hegarty and Martina Murray, is being launched by Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar next Tuesday evening.
A spokeswoman for the authors said: “This book lets women’s voices shine through first-hand accounts via interviews and excerpts from Dail and Seanad contributions.
“Topics covered range from personal to the political, including what inspired women to get involved in politics, their early influences, experience of getting involved in politics, the issues that were prevalent during their time in public
life, their achievements and accomplishments and their perspectives about the future for women’s involvement in
politics.”
