Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation, which provides us with an opportunity to deal with the urgent need for reform and radical change in our political system. It must be accepted that we need a complete change in Irish politics if we are to break out of the current mindset, which is conservative, stale and lacks energy. As a Member of this House for the past ten years, I welcomed the many new Members of Dáil Éireann following the last general election, which added a freshness and energy to this House.

On funding, I am sure most of my colleagues in this House would agree that corruption has damaged the political system in this country. In politics, we are not all the same, an issue that concerns me from a democratic point of view. Approximately 30% to 35% of the electorate believe all politicians are the same and that they are all on the take, which is totally untrue. What is sad also is that many among that cohort of the population do not bother to vote. This debate must be part of the broader debate on Dáil reform. In this regard there is a need for media diversity to enhance the political system. I have concerns about what is going on in the debate about broadcasting in this country.

Whether people like it or not, a high percentage of the population is voting for independent candidates. The recent opinion poll put us in the region of 18%. In some constituencies, some Independent Deputies are even higher than that. We need to change the mindset and reflect the reality that 18% to 20% of people are voting independent and thinking independent. We need to deal with that.

Part of the problem in regard to the conservative Establishment in this country is that there seems to a kind of intellectual snobbery about particular kinds or brands of Deputies. If anybody has the honour of being elected to Dáil Éireann or to Seanad Éireann, his or her mandate should be respected. I want to see a major change in the mindset. There is a broad spectrum of views in this House, with Members putting forward different policies and different views on legislation.

There seems to be a kind of nanny state brigade in broader society. I take, for example, the attempt today in Seanad Éireann to ban smoking in cars with children. The vast majority of smokers I know would never dream of smoking in a car with children. The vast majority of people who smoke will go along with the legislation but do not want to be treated like lepers. I raise this issue in the context of respecting different values and enjoying diversity.

The Bill comprises 30 sections. The purpose of its provision is to significantly reform political funding arrangements and to bring about a more equal gender balance among candidates at general elections. The Bill will give effect to these reforms by way of amendments to the Electoral Act 1997, the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 and the Electoral Act 1992. These will provide for a ban on the acceptance of donations of more than €200 for political purposes from a corporate donor unless the donor has registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission. I welcome that section and the fact the Minister is in the House to hear my views. I also welcome the establishment of a register of corporate donors which shall be published and the reduction in the maximum amount that can be accepted as a donation by a political party, an accounting unit of a political party or a third party from €6,348.69, or £5,000 as it currently appears in legislation, to €2,500. That is a welcome development in this legislation.

There is a reduction in the maximum amount that can be accepted as a donation by an individual - an elected represented or an election candidate - from €2,539.40, or £2,000, to €1,000. There is an attempt here to try to reform the system and to give everybody a fair chance. We must understand that many people want to come into public life but they are often bullied or frightened from doing so for a number of reasons. There are personal reasons in that they feel their private lives will be hammered in our national media and across the board. Another reason is that many good quality candidates are frightened about the money. When I stood for election to the Dáil in 2002, I had to borrow from the credit union to part fund my campaign because I did not get any big donations from big sponsors or people in the background. If we want to encourage democracy and inclusivity, we must have a level playing pitch for all.

The legislation provides for a reduction in the threshold at which donations must be declared by a political party to the Standards in Public Office Commission from €5,078.95, or £4,000, to €1,500 and to an individual from €634.87, or £500, to €600. There is also a reduction in the threshold at which donations must be reported by companies, trade unions, societies and building societies in their annual accounts from €5,078.95 to €200.

Broadening this out, we also need political reform. This must be part of an overall strategy to deal with political reform. All of us who banged on doors at the last general election were told to try to change the system to make it relevant, so I am putting forward proposals in regard to Dáil reform. I would like us to create a real democracy with accountability at every level. We need to cut the fat. I am in a minority but we should try to transform the Seanad rather than abolish it and turn it into a genuine forum for civic society. We should stop the use of the guillotine in the Dáil to pass laws which have not been scrutinised. We should give Dáil committees the powers to examine the proposals for spending before it happens and to hold real inquiries by giving them the power to compel witnesses and documents. We should make senior public servants responsible for their decisions and actions. We should bring real transparency to the funding of political parties, and this is partly covered in this legislation.

I feel strongly that parties should publish their annual accounts. There should be a register and control of lobbyists and whistleblowers' legislation, which I believe is in the pipeline. We should make all appointments to State and public bodies and the Judiciary open to public competition and Dáil scrutiny. It should be done on the basis of meritocracy and people's ability to do the job. Whether one is a good garda, a good judge or a good school teacher, one should be promoted, enhanced and developed based on ability. We should ban any individual from being a director of more than three major companies or public bodies. I put forward these proposals for discussion. We need to conduct an urgent review of company law to ensure white collar criminals are brought to justice and I feel very strongly that we should bring back the original Freedom of Information Act. When I knocked on the doors of Dublin North-Central at the last general election, these were the issues on which people elected me and on which they gave me a mandate. They were on page 4 of my election leaflet. There is no limit to what can be achieved if we all work together in the national interest. Part of that must be Dáil reform.

There is a debate about the funding of political parties which is linked to this debate on funding. A number of my colleagues raised this issue because there is much misinformation in regard to the famous Independents leader's allowance. I am honoured to chairperson of the Technical Group, which represents 16 Deputies. Independent politicians have always called for reform of a system which sees the political parties receive €10.7 million in political funding. We have harshly criticised the political party funding system which sees a whopping €10.7 million of public funds going to the main parties and yet they have a go at us about our leader's allowance. Currently, Fine Gael receives €58,735.79 for its 75 Deputies while the Labour Party receives €63,317.54 for its 37 Deputies. At the same time, the €41,000 received by Independent Deputies is all over the media.

In regard to best practice, many of us put the spending of our leader's allowance on our websites for everyone to judge. We use it directly for political purposes and there is a record of that on our websites. We also use it to hire extra staff, which is very important. I say this because it is related to the funding issue.

We need to ensure all funding allowances paid to politicians are fully vouched. The group of Independent Deputies have publicly called on the Minister to do this in the context of the funding of political parties in this State. That is very important. The people demand that we are accountable and they want to see an end to the kind of carry on that went on for too long.

When one looks at the detail of the Bill, it proposes changes to the political finance system with a view of achieving two central policy aims. The Minister is trying to limit the potential for political donations to influence the actions of political parties, especially when they are in government, by reducing the cap on donations and by introducing more disclosure requirement to make political finance more transparent. It is a positive objective and it is in line with much of the Dáil reform. It is important that we have a debate.

I have different opinions on a second issue, namely, the use of political parties' public funding under the Electoral Acts to promote a gender balance in the Dáil. I believe strongly in a meritocracy. Someone should not get to be a Minister of State, senior Cabinet Minister or Taoiseach based on his or her sex. Appointments should be based on merit.

We must facilitate the entrance of people into public life but I would broaden the scope to include, for example, people from disadvantaged backgrounds and people who are not directly involved in the political system. We must recognise the reality, in that many people will not enter public life because of fears that their personal lives will be exposed on the front page or page 3 of the daily newspapers. The children of some of my colleagues in the Independent group have been written about by newspapers despite having nothing to do with politics. This is unacceptable. A number of my friends have had their personal issues publicised. Have a go at me about my political ability any time but anyone who goes near a friend or family member is crossing a dangerous line. Although we should never accept such activity, the sad reality is that it is part of the so-called political debate. Politicians from all parties should unite on this issue. What people do in their private lives is their own business. People can have a go at us for what we do in the Chamber or in our constituency clinics, but our decisions have nothing to do with our children, partners or extended family members. We need responsible reporting, diversity in the media and so on. There is no point in discussing the reform of political life if the people involved will not go along with it.

Section 6 amends section 23A of the Electoral Act 1997 to reduce the cap on donations to political parties, accounting units of political parties or third parties from €6,348.69 to €2,500. Under section 9, any donation in excess of €1,500 to a political party or €600 to an individual must be disclosed by the recipient to the Standards in Public Office Commission. This is a positive measure. We need to know from where people are getting their money. If one is doing gigs for a political party or for one's own election, that is one's own business. One can sell tickets, hold table quizzes, run sing-songs or so on as long as one keeps those efforts within the guidelines. One should also be conscious of the fact that some people assume they can use money to gain clout over a person who gets into office.

It is well established that Ireland's Parliament has one of the poorest gender balance records of European OECD countries. This fact was documented in a 2009 joint Oireachtas committee report on women's participation in politics. That report contained a number of interesting statistics. Of the 166 Dáil seats, only 25 are currently held by women, some 15.25% compared with 13.3% in the Thirtieth and Twenty-ninth Dáileanna. These figures compare with a European average of 24%. It is important that we consider examples of good practice. We must ensure that people make it in politics because of their ability, constituency work rates and public service.

I will target the phrase "public service". Some sections of society seem to believe that all politicians are not interested in the public good. I am not moaning about the job, as I love it, but it can be difficult at times. In the current economic climate, it is easy to be cynical about politicians and Ministers. We need to reintroduce the sense of public service. Most councillors, Senators, Deputies and Ministers are in their jobs for the right reasons - they love their country and want to be credible public servants.

The same approach should be taken to the gender issue. We must consider why not enough women put themselves forward for election. Only 91 women have served in Dáil Éireann since the beginning of the State. This low figure is reflected at Government level, in that only 7% of the 181 people who have served in Cabinets since 1922 have been women. We must take this matter seriously.

Women are under-represented at local level, accounting for only 16% of local councillors and 12% of regional authority members. Women's representation on councils has been consistently low for decades, reaching a modest 15% for the first time in 1999. At the 2004 local elections, women filled 152 city council seats, amounting to 17% in total. The position worsened at the 2009 local elections, when women only won 16% of the seats available.

Compare these figures with those of the organisations on the ground. A large number of women have been involved in my election teams. They are outstanding canvassers and workers and are all involved in their local communities, be it in the form of parents councils in schools, groups representing disabled children or helping the elderly. A large percentage of volunteers are women. I have asked many members of my election team to go forward at local elections, but they do not want to enter into public live because of two major issues that have not yet been addressed during this debate. If they join Dublin City Council or Dáil Éireann, they believe their privacy and families will be threatened. These issues must be examined.

In the 2002 general election, 18.1% of all candidates were women. In the 2007 general election, 17.4% were women. In the 2011 general election, 15.2% were women, representing 86 candidates. There is an issue.

We must also address the question of family issues, although this is not a concern for women alone. It is a question of equality. If the Dáil works unsocial hours, we must examine the reasons. Many Members have young children. I am not too bad, as my two children are reared and I have a bit more free time. For young parents, however, being a Member is difficult, as it is for rural Deputies who must travel to Dublin for three or four nights every week. We must be radical and sensible when considering ideas on how to deal with this issue.

I welcome this debate. I also welcome the Bill as a starting point for a real discussion on the future of Irish politics.

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