Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 4, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following:

“Report on number of members to be returned for Dáil constituency

5.The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage shall, within 1 year after the dissolution of Dáil Éireann that next occurs after the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the manner in which the number of members allocated to each constituency of Dáil Éireann has affected the following in representational terms: (a) gender equity;

(b) diversity of political views;

(c) diversity of race and ethnicity;

(d) diversity in respect of disability;

(e) diversity in social class;

(f) diversity in respect of sexual orientation and gender identity; and

(g) diversity in political parties.”.

Amendment No. 6 would require the Minister, within one year of the dissolution of Dáil Éireann that next occurs after the passing of the Act, to lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the manner in which the number of Members allocated to each constituency of Dáil Éireann has affected gender equity; diversity of political views; diversity of race and ethnicity; diversity in respect of disability; diversity in respect of social class; diversity in respect of sexual orientation and gender identity; and diversity in political parties in representational terms.

On Second Stage, I raised how the terms of reference given to the Electoral Commission, as set out in section 57 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, were quite short-sighted and specifically, that the requirement under subsection (2)(b) that "each constituency shall return 3, 4 or 5 members" lacked foresight both in terms of population growth and our broader goal of electing a more diverse Parliament. There were clear and concrete calls for the abolition of three-seat constituencies and an allowance for the creation of six-seat constituencies, and the opportunity was not taken. I also cited forthcoming research by Dr. Claire McGing, on behalf of Women for Election, which notes that the presence of PR-STV in Irish general elections will strongly influence decisions about candidate selection and party strategies, and has gender defects. Dr. McGing further notes that while constituency magnitude does not influence women's Dáil representation to the extent the political science literature would suggest, the effect is strongly mediated by individual political party strategies. This report finds that three-seat constituencies are less favourable to women than those electing four and five Members. Dr. McGing concludes that the research to be carried out by the Electoral Commission on six-seat constituencies must have a stronger gender lens, and that as the gender quota threshold rises to 40% at the next general election, parties should use larger constituencies as an enabling tool for effective quota implementation, while simultaneously ensuring that new women are selected to run in winnable seats, and not just to make up numbers alongside any favoured candidates.

The reasoning for our amendment is that research on constituency size needs to look to other issues, including diversity of political views, race and ethnicity, diversity in respect of disability and social class, LGBT diversity and diversity in political parties. We live in an unfinished republic and an unfinished democracy, and there is a huge body of work ahead of us in the realisation of the true democratic principles where political representation is available to everyone. These Houses do not reflect or represent the lived experiences of many in our country, and this needs to change. Working-class voices, Traveller voices, disabled voices, ethnic minority voices and trans voices are too few, as I said on Second Stage, and in many cases, they are completely missing in these Houses. Our group looked forward to raising these points in our submission to the Electoral Commission's research programme, but we should also be including it in the legislation, as it cannot be some sort of thought exercise for the future. It must be a radical and urgent change that we enact now.