Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill and commend the Minister on bringing it before the House. The legislation addresses two long-standing issues in Irish politics, namely, the lack of female elected representatives and the issue of political donations. As I am one of only 25 female Deputies, I will speak mainly on the impact of the Bill on promoting the role of women in politics.

When enacted, the legislation will require each political party to ensure at least 30% of candidates in a general election are female. Should a party fail to meet this requirement, it risks losing half of its State funding. The percentage of female candidates required will rise to 40% seven years after the general election at which the requirement first applies.

Regardless of the arguments on the merits of gender quotas, the achievement of the Bill has been to get people discussing the role of women in politics. This is a positive development in itself. At present, 15% of Dáil Deputies are female. That this figure is the highest percentage of female Deputies ever elected only serves to further highlight the problem. While the introduction of gender quotas may raise the profile of women's involvement in politics, it is not the final solution to the problem. There are no guarantees that more female candidates will mean more women Deputies. It is ultimately a matter for members of the public to make the final decision on who they elect to serve them and I am firmly of the view that this decision should be based on a person's ability to do the job rather than his or her gender.

The role of a public representative is highly demanding. We are on call for 24 hours per day and we must have a thick skin. Politics has been a male dominated world and it may be a job that is not attractive to some women. Women need to become more empowered in order that they acquire the confidence and self-belief to take on a political role. It is clear there needs to be a significant change in attitudes if this issue is to be properly addressed. To start this process, changes are required to the Constitution. We are living in the 21st century, yet the Constitution still recognises a woman's place as being in the home. Article 41.2 reads:

1° In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.

2° The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.

It is all well and good discussing changes that could be made to promote women's rights and progress that has been made in this regard but the fundamental legislation governing this country still enshrines the view that a woman's role should be in the home.

The words "neglect of their duties in the home" is enshrined in our Constitution, and I believe this needs to change.

We are at a point in Ireland where we have had female Ministers, a female Tánaiste, two fantastic women who served as President and we currently have a women in the role of Attorney General. Women have held some of the highest offices in this country in terms of having influence on legislation. This is why it is astonishing that the issue of amending the Constitution has not been addressed sooner. If we are really serious about promoting the role of women in politics, changing the Constitution seems like the place to start. We need to make provisions so that the mother can actively participate outside the home.

There are times in a woman's life when it may not be practically possible to serve in the Dáil, such as a nursing mother with a young baby, and a further deterrent is the fact that there is no maternity leave in place for female politicians. Essentially, it is extremely difficult for a young female TD who is planning to have a family. The flip side is that if a woman were to take a few months' leave when having a baby, would the public be forgiving or take that fact into consideration when the next election comes around and her constituency colleagues have used the opportunity to attend every function they can? These are all very real obstacles which hinder the participation of women in politics. They will not be solved by the introduction of gender quotas alone.

I welcome the Bill. It has started the process to get more women involved in politics and it has focused attention on the issue of female participation in politics. However, I again reiterate the point that we must tread carefully on this issue. I do not believe anybody should have a rite of passage to be elected due to his or her gender, and we certainly do not want a situation to arise where we have token candidates for the sake of a party saving its political funding. Political parties are continually trying to attract young people into politics, and I feel there is a need among political parties to put a greater emphasis on attracting young women into politics. Perhaps we need positive discrimination at grassroots level.

I commend the Minister on bringing forward this Bill and I urge that the constitutional convention review article 41.2 of the Constitution and give serious consideration to its appropriateness in modern Ireland.

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