Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

I welcome the chance to speak on the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011. However, the revelations of the Mahon tribunal have done more damage to anyone getting involved in politics than the issues addressed in the Bill. The carry-on of the previous Government, the antics of Fianna Fáil and the relationship between big business and politics have done more to damage the participation of citizens in politics. That needs to be stated.

I am a recent convert to the principle of gender quotas. In the past I thought, along the lines of my colleague Deputy Joanna Tuffy, that if women put themselves forward, they would receive a positive response. Within the Labour Party I have never found it an impediment to be a woman. Since my election to the Dáil, however, I have noted the severe lack of women and their contribution. This is reflected in some of the issues that have failed to be legislated for in the past 20 years. Twenty years after the X case we do not have legislation to deal with an issue that pertains solely to a woman's right to her body. Is that because women are not fairly represented in this House? We heard on radio this morning about the horrific cases of women who had to travel to England to undergo the medical procedure of abortion. This is an Irish solution to an Irish problem whereby women are exported and people turn a blind eye. Is it because women are absent from this House, in which legislation is passed, that no one has the wherewithal or the gumption to tackle this issue?

I welcome the changes in funding for political parties in terms of women being selected as candidates. That is a positive move. However, the Bill misses an opportunity to focus on the selection of candidates for local elections. I served on Dungarvan Town Council for two years before being elected to the Dáil. Although one of only nine members of a very small council, we were a hard working and effective section of local government. Such experience is of huge benefit for a woman, as it allows a person to understand what is expected of him or her. I am a single mother of one child who is nine years old. As a Deputy for a rural constituency in County Waterford, it is very difficult to leave one's child on a Tuesday afternoon to come to the national Parliament for three or four days every week. We need to do more, therefore, than look at gender quotas. We need to look at how child care is provided and the expectations placed on politicians, not only with regard to the hours kept and the way business is done in Parliament but also in terms of the work to be done in the constituency and how it can be a seven day a week operation. That can prove to be difficult, too.

The Bill gives us an opportunity to look at how we can make positive changes to encourage more women to become involved in politics. On 8 March, International Women's Day, I was asked to speak to pupils at my old secondary school in Waterford city about women involved in politics. A recent report highlighted how women's pay still lagged behind that of their male colleagues. Again, one has to wonder why that is? At a certain point in their careers men forge ahead, while women seem to stay static. The same is true of politics. All over the country women are involved at grassroots level on local committees and in GAA and youth clubs but do not seem to want, or are not asked, to become involved in politics. The gender quotas to be implemented under the Bill will enrich political life and offer people the opportunity to choose a female Deputy to represent them. Of the 15 candidates who stood in the general election in Waterford, I was the only woman and I am the first female Deputy in the constituency of Waterford for 60 years. That tells us that something needs to be done. The Bill should be an interim measure. We should come back in five or ten years time and see how matters have progressed.

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