Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)

I move amendment No. 31:

In page 25, line 35, to delete "30 per cent" and substitute "40 per cent".

Since we last spoke on this issue the representation in our Independent group has gone up by 10%. This is a unique fact about women's representation in Irish politics. Of the total number of 1,620 Seanad seats filled between 1922 and 2009, fewer than 10% have been filled by women. Since the first Dáil in 1919, there have been only 91 women Oireachtas Members. Consequently, Dáil Éireann has never had less than 85% of the women. In the last general election only 86 of the 566 candidates were women. Despite the number of female Deputies rising somewhat since 1997, the overall percentage of women standing at general elections has decreased.

The National Women's Council of Ireland has estimated that at the current rate it will take 370 years before gender parity in political representation is achieved. We welcome the Bill but the Independent group believes we can go further. It is clear that women are not disinterested in politics and from my work in civil society groups I know that there are passionate, committed women working tirelessly throughout the country. Women play a significant role in each of the political parties. It is interesting to note the membership of the parties. For example, Fine Gael has 42% female membership, the Labour Party has 37%, Fianna Fáil has 34% and Sinn Féin has 24% female membership. I welcome the attempts being made in the Bill but I cannot help but wonder why we are delaying the introduction of the 40% quota. If we wait for the natural electoral cycle and, as the Government may wish, until the full term of the Parliament, it could be more than ten years before we get to a 40% quota. The figure of 30% is the bare minimum recommended and it does nothing but delay the inevitable. We are putting forward the amendment because it will take more than a decade to reach the 40% quota which has been recommended by the Council of Europe Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men as the minimum level of gender parity one should expect in the political sphere.

As I remarked on Second Stage, I am no cheerleader for quotas and more than anything I look forward to the day when they are no longer necessary. However, deferring the introduction of a 40% level of gender parity until one decade from now will do nothing more than place another barrier in the way of achieving a truly representative democracy.