Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

That is part of the matter in hand. My constituency colleague is very much pro-gender quota, which I am not and I will come to that.

Democracy, as many speakers have said, is not cheap. While it might have been denigrated by people to a large extent in recent years and I refer to the structure, the media and everything else, it is certainly something that it is worth preserving, fighting for and ensuring that it serves the people fairly, and that it is not prestigious or in the gift of any of any particular part, group or business people. How much would we decide that we have to pay for it? If we were to abolish all donations in this manner and ensure it is paid for - regardless of the number of votes any candidate or party gets in any election, be it a council, local authority or whatever - by being funded from the State, even though the State coffers are poor enough, there would be total transparency. I have great faith in the current system where the ordinary people can give one €50 for a ticket for dance, a golf classic or whatever. If it is only a fiver if people want to give it in good faith and in all sincerity, they would not mind the donation being recorded. The Standards in Public Office Commission should have a record of donations and that should be available for anybody to access.

I now turn to the issue of gender quotas. There is much talk about them which is meant to be dressed up to be nice and - I hate using the word - sexy, but it is meant as a political term. To be fair, most women I speak to do not want them and do not want to be treated as a special designated group.

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