Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I hate quotas, the Ceann Comhairle probably hates quotas and, in general, we all probably hate quotas. Ms Viviane Reding, the European justice Commissioner, is no exception, and she is planning to legislate for quotas of women on private sector boards throughout Europe. She stated, "I am not a great fan of quotas but I like the results quotas bring about", which sums up this issue. The only thing quotas have going for them is that they work. They change the context in which we live, especially when it is a limiting or discriminatory context.

In a discriminatory position one can hope to change attitudes and behaviours through hard work and over the long haul, but sometimes that can be a very long process. We have been waiting 80 years for such change and we could be waiting for several more generations before parliaments - not just our own - heavily tilted towards male representation come anywhere near equal representation.

We cannot wait this out over several generations and accept inequity in the future as well as in the present. We can shout "Stop", and having done so we can introduce a quota system we do not like but which will work. In more than 50 countries throughout the world quotas stipulate a certain number of political party candidates for election who must be women. These quotas vary, with Nepal demanding 5%, Costa Rica demanding 40% and France demanding 50%. In Ireland we are seeking 30% representation. It is just enough to push political parties into genuinely searching for women candidates and get them to acknowledge their obligation to let women emerge. The results can be seen in other countries, as the majority of nations with more than 30% female representation in parliament have implemented quotas. In other words, waiting and hoping for political parties to see the light and promote more women into the parliamentary ranks does not really work, but putting a quota system in place does work.

This is an interesting week in which to examine the issue, as the Equality Authority has come down like a tonne of bricks on a hotel group for discriminating against a female manager this week. The problem of the hotel group was that the manager got pregnant, which did not suit the employer. The hotel group took action, pressured the manager and limited her choices. The employer has been severely punished for those actions.

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