Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Bill 2011. This is an important item of reforming legislation which will change many things about how our political system is run. This will be a change for the better. Changes to the current political funding regime should lead to a move away from the perception of politics as being in the hands of big business and corporates. The removal of these links is very welcome to me in my role as a politician. Their removal will allow us to do our work in a fully open and transparent manner.

One of the biggest challenges Members face is to restore people's faith in politics and politicians. This can only happen through reform and the Bill is an important part of our reform package. Reform of the political system is one of the main reasons that I decided to run for election to Dáil Éireann. It was a matter that was continually raised with me during last year's general election campaign and even during the recent referendum campaign. Citizens want to see a change in how politics functions and a reduction in the maximum permitted levels relating to both corporate and individual donations to political parties is a key component in this regard. This gives rise, however, to a debate on how people expect politics to be funded. Members of the general public do not want big business to be in a position to provide large donations. However, they are not very happy when large amounts of taxpayers' money are used to fund parties.

Fine Gael holds a national draw once a year. This is the party's largest source of income and involves individual members and supporters throughout the country buying tickets which cost €80. The election campaign run by Barack Obama almost four years ago revolutionised how political campaigns in the United States were funded. Members of the public were encouraged, online and elsewhere, to give what they could in order to be part of Mr. Obama's campaign. The amounts donated were small, but even giving a couple of dollars allowed American voters to feel part of one of the most exciting political campaigns in the world. This has the added bonus of giving a sense of ownership and interest in campaigns to the wider public. I hope the changes to levels of political funding proposed in the Bill will lead to a wider participation in campaigns by more Irish citizens and also that it will lead to larger numbers of interested people giving small donations, thereby allowing them to feel part of the political system. This could only be a good thing.

I wish to address another aspect of the Bill, namely, the measures relating to the under-representation of women in the Dáil. This is an extremely serious issue and one which should be addressed at the highest level. We have long moved on from the time when the country was run exclusively by men. The universally acclaimed achievements of both Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese who, between them, served as Head of State for over 20 years show the very high level of skills, values and political acumen that women bring to the political system. It is for this reason that I welcome the provisions in the Bill. However, I would like them to be implemented at an earlier stage than that envisaged because this would ensure they would have a greater chance of success. If we are serious about introducing gender quotas that will work, political parties must initially look to the forthcoming local elections in 2014. There is serious under-representation of females at local level. The level of female representation on councils reached 15% for the first time in 1999. It rose to a high of 17% in 2004 but then fell back to 16% following the local elections in 2009. There is no better education for a future Deputy than time spent as a local representative. Time spent as a local councillor would show candidates that they are well up for the job and increase their confidence, if that is an issue. It would also vastly increase the chance of more female candidates getting elected to Dáil Éireann. They would be better known to the local electorate and, perhaps more importantly for candidate selection, well known and proven to the local party hierarchy who select candidates. From my own experience, my role as a county councillor gave me the experience and belief to go on to be a Deputy. It is great first step and grounding in the role of a public representative.

I note and acknowledge the Minister's points that due to the funding structure of parties being linked to general election performance, it is not possible to tie these proposed changes in at local level. I am hopeful, however, that even though not required, political parties will start the process of seeking more female candidates for the next local elections.

In practice, it will make sense for parties to be seeking more balance in candidates in 2014, once this legislation is enacted, to allow them to be in a strong position to implement these changes at the next general election, thus having a greater percentage of women in the field as potential Dáil candidates long before the next general election.

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