John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Good for them. However, the point I was trying to make is that, despite setting up structures, many societal factors militate against female participation. Therefore, a quota system such as this is the best way forward. Deputy Devins was not present, but I recently met Danish parliamentarians. It was quite remarkable, since most were women. There was only one man. They had managed it, and Nordic countries always manage to be far ahead of us when it comes to such issues. To my mind, this amendment makes perfect sense. It is a way of giving legislative effect to the theory, but it must be more than that. It must now become a reality. If we had a list system here, we would have a very different approach. We could have 40% female representation. It is difficult to achieve that with the present system. For many reasons, into which I do not wish to go, there are certain advantages in politics if one is a man; that is the long and the short of it.

I support these amendments. I understand that Deputy Ó Caoláin is vexed enough to put the matter to a vote. We shall see.

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