President's daughter in the run for Seanad elections

President Michael D Higgin's daughter Alice-Mary is to run as an Independent candidate in the Seanad elections.

Ms Higgins has taken an unpaid leave of absence from the National Women's Council of Ireland, where she works as a policy co-ordinator, to run as a civil society candidate on the NUI panel.

Among her main campaign issues are closing the gender pay and pension gap, repealing the Eighth Amendment and introducing equality budgeting, which analyses how different sections of society are affected by specific economic policies.

From Galway, Ms Higgins (40) has previously worked with the unemployed, anti-racism project Comhlámh, aid agency Trócaire and for the umbrella group 'Older and Bolder', which campaigns for senior citizens.

A Fulbright Scholar and graduate of UCD and Trinity College Dublin, she said that although the Seanad was in need of reform, it did play an important role in developing progressive legislation.