Ms Caitr?ona Gleeson:

There are mechanisms. I am not a legal expert. It is one of the things we have not had the resources to do. We have been working with the National Women's Council and a group of NGOs to look at this. We have not had the benefit of legal expertise because we do not have the resources to pay for it. One of suggestions Women for Election is putting forward - and I have also heard politicians suggest this - is a straightforward fines mechanism based on the turnover of a party on a percentage basis. A standard could be built in, whether through SIPO or the electoral commission, that our political parties must achieve. It would be a standard that we have diversity in representation. We have not been living with 100 years of a male quota; it is a standard. We have to lift our thinking on this and look at penalising parties when they do not meet a standard. We are speaking about the core institutions of the State where power affects everybody's lives. I will not mince words on this. This is how we have to come at it. We have been very polite and moving around the edges.

I have great regard for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, has done tremendous work since he took office. The officials have also done great work, but they are not involved in overall government. They are involved in local government and they are not invested in the overall picture. It is not for civil servants to determine how to change government. That is not their role. They are not employed to do this. This committee has an opportunity to make strong recommendations to drive this forward.