Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. I am pleased with the opportunity to speak on this legislation, which I welcome wholeheartedly. The Bill addresses two of the biggest problems facing our electoral system, namely, how politics are funded and how representative politics, or politicians, are of our people.

This legislation is important as it will go some way to addressing the scepticism and cynicism surrounding politics, particularly in the area of transparent party funding. The Bill tackles two main areas in political life. First, it introduces greater transparency where political donations are concerned. Second, it reduces State funding for political parties who fail to ensure that at least 30% of candidates going forward for election are women, thus giving the electorate a more balanced choice in general elections.

On the first point, transparency is an essential part of restoring trust in politics. Reducing the financial links between private money, corporate money, vested interests' money and the political world is vital to rebuilding a greater faith in our political system. The reduction of the maximum amount a political party can accept from any one donor to €2,500 is welcome. It will mean that our own political funding laws are brought more in line with best international practice.

For example, in the United States, a country where politicians are much more reliant on donations, the maximum any individual can donate to a general election candidate is $2,400.

However, it is important that we do not simply reduce the amount political parties can accept. We must also increase the transparency levels if we are to make a significant impact on public trust in our political funding. That is why reducing the disclosure threshold for political parties from €5,078 to €1,500 is so important. It is also important that the public are aware of their ability to review the annual donation reports for both parties and individual politicians on the Standards In Public Office, SIPO, Commission website. It is important to have such transparency whereby people can log on to that site to see at first hand the amounts.

The redefining of what constitutes a corporate donor will also mean severe restrictions are placed on companies and trade unions when it comes to political donations. Any donor body that is not registered with SIPO will be prohibited from contributing any more than €200 to either a political party or an individual candidate. I note that virtually all of these moves have been welcomed by Government and opposition Deputies alike. It is good to see such a united and determined effort to prevent special interests from influencing what is, and should always remain, a purely democratic process.

This Bill will mean that the future of political funding lies in smaller, more widespread donations from members of the public. If anything, this change will mean that all public representatives will need to devote even far more time to the interests of their constituents, something which many people have been doing but it makes it more important for us all to do.

Although nobody doubts the importance of regulating political donations, it has not been the most talked about or controversial element of the Bill. That title falls to the second element of this legislation, that of gender balance. Upon the passing of this legislation, all political parties will be required to meet a 30% quota when it comes to putting female candidates on the ticket. We can debate whether this quota system is the most effective way of changing our system but we must all agree that something had to be done. Where female representation in politics is concerned, the reality is that only 15% of the Members of the Dáil are women, which is the highest ever number to date. Since the foundation of the State there have been a total of 4,700 male Deputies elected to Dáil Eireann and just 260 women. That latter figure tells its own story. That is one of the main reasons this legislation has to be brought in. Women account for 50% of the population and having only 15% of those women represented in this House makes that democracy unbalanced. This makes the need for these changes even more pressing.

That brings me to a point we must discuss when dealing with this subject, that of the Dáil not being a family friendly place. I have no doubt that when this legislation is passed and if we are all serious about changing the structure and the representations, which I believe we are, we must make sure that this is a more family friendly place. Late sittings into the night several nights of the week is not family friendly. That must change. Being a politician is onerous and pressurised for many people.

There has been a lack of respect, particularly in recent years, for politics and politicians. Respect for politicians must start in this House. We all owe it to ourselves to have more respect for each other as politicians. We are not representing ourselves as individuals in here but are the representatives of the people of Ireland. It is a great honour to be elected to this House and very few people get to be elected. Many people would love to be in this House and to be representatives but they will not get that opportunity. Being elected to this House is a great opportunity that we should respect. Not alone us as politicians but the media and everybody associated with working in this House should have more respect for politicians because we are representing the people. We are not representing ourselves as individuals, we are elected to this House to represent the people and we must never forget that. It is a great honour for anyone to be elected to his or her national parliament. People should be humble but also respectful about it.

Unfortunately, change such as that I mentioned will not occur overnight. Therefore, we need to come up with positive, workable solutions. Electoral gender quotas have been successful in other countries such as France, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal and Poland. There is no reason they cannot have the same effect here. We do not want to dictate, as was said earlier, who should be a representative. It is the people who cast their votes in the ballot box who should have that say.

A number of international organisations have looked at the notion of gender-balance representation, and the results are clear. A more equal distribution of men and women in politics results in better decision making, a very important point. A United Nations study into the use of quotas concluded that there is evidence from around the world where quotas have had an immediate and direct effect on women's participation. In the same study the United Nations highlights that in Argentina, where quotas were introduced, women's participation rose from 5% to 25%. That is why I would support this Bill, support the Government introduction of it and look forward to our having better representation from the people of Ireland in this institution.

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