Lisa Chambers has laid down a challenge for the Pope, when he visits her Mayo constituency on 26 August. The 31-year-old Fianna Fail TD has called on the pontiff to offer an apology to the victims of clerical abuse in Ireland.

"I would hope that he would address it," she says. "It would be the big elephant in the room if he didn't. I can't direct him what to say or what to do. But I think there would be an expectation that he would address the clerical sex abuse and the mother and baby homes - I'm thinking of Tuam, the Magdalene Laundries.

All of these really difficult and very recent things in our past have led to people moving away from the Church. So, I think it would be wise if he were to address that. And I do think that an apology is owed to the victims of those crimes."

Does Lisa think women would make better Popes? "I think women should be given the opportunity. I think it's unfortunate, and it's disappointing, that the Catholic Church is still refusing to allow women become priests," she tells Hot Press.

"It's women that are keeping the Church going. They're doing Eucharistic Ministries. They're going around giving communion to the sick in their community; they're doing a lot of the organising in parishes; and a lot of cleaning of the churches. Women play a massive role in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

So, it's unfortunate that the Catholic Church haven't seen fit to elect women to become priests. But I'd be hopeful that some day in the near future that will change."

DEBATE ON NEUTRALITY

Lisa, a qualified barrister, believes the blasphemy law should be taken out of the Irish Constitution. "I do. The Constitution needs to be brought up-to-date and I think it's one of those particular laws that people would like to see removed. I wouldn't envisage that there would be huge opposition to removing it. But who knows?"

Lisa's fellow Fianna Fail TD Stephen Donnelly told Hot Press last year that he doesn't believe Ireland should still be a neutral country. As someone who was a member of Reserved Defence Forces for many years and was the Opposition spokesperson on Defence until recently, what#s Lisa's take on it?

"We're militarily neutral. We're not aligned to military organisations, so there is a distinction. But obviously as members of the European Union we have a role to play - we have responsibilities and obligations - and I don't think it's fair to suggest that, if anything ever happened on our soil every other member state should run to our aid, if we wouldn't do that for another member state.

"So, I think, as part of the European Union, we have to shoulder those responsibilities and take them seriously. But, at the same time, our neutrality is something that we're very protective of. Perhaps that's a debate we should have, because the world has changed and, I think, there's different threats now to our State and our citizens. But that's a conversation that has to happen at a national level, with citizens involved."

Lisa is now Fianna Fail spokesperson for Brexit. Does she fear that there could be a return to violence if we end up with a so-called hard border. "Peace is fragile," she says. "It was hard won. I think any return to any type of border represents not just a barrier to trade, which is probably the key discussion currently happening, but, to me, it represents division and it harps back to a time in our country#s past where violence was part of every day life for some citizens on this island."

SPEAKING OF LEADERS

Her party recently publicly backed incumbent President Michael D. Higgins, a former Hot Press columnist, for a second-term at Áras an Uachtaráin.

"I think that he's done a good job," Lisa says. "I think that he's been a good President. I have certainly been proud of him on the international stage. It's an established practice that a sitting president would have a second term, if he or she wishes. So, I would be very happy for him to continue."

Would her own former Fianna Fqil leader, Bertie Ahern, make a good candidate? She's dismissive of the idea. "Any citizen, as you know, is entitled to get 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities and they can contest," she says. "In a democracy, anyone who wants to contest is more than entitled to do so."

She isn't a big fan of Leo Varadkar. "It's a major achievement for somebody so young to hold the office. And I wish him well. But certainly his sort of politics to date does seem to be a lot more about PR and spin," she states.

"We haven't seen him as leader getting the government into a place where they're getting to grips with the 10,000 people that are homeless and the 700,000 people that are sitting on hospital waiting lists. So, whilst he may be a nice person face-to-face, and a decent person - I think, in terms of his delivery as Taoiseach, there's a lot to be desired."

Would she like to lead Fianna Fail somewhere down the road? "Potentially, yeah. I wouldn't rule anything out," she admits. "My focus is on doing my job well now - I'm only two years elected. I'm only in the infancy of my political career. Who knows what the future will hold?"

I point out that she would make history if she did become their first female leader. "Yes, I'm aware of that," she concludes, laughing. "We will have a female leader at some point."

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