Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)

I join other speakers in welcoming the Bill. It is part of the commitment we made to the electorate 15 months ago to reform the political system, examine the issue of donations to parties and address the need for more balanced representation across Irish society. I shall address my comments to the issue of gender balance.

Other speakers have pointed out that we are at the lower end of the scale when it comes to female representation in Parliament. Approximately 15% of the Members of the Oireachtas are women, compared to an average of 24% across Europe. My party's record is not dreadful in this respect, although we need to improve it. In the last general election 26% of our candidates were women which although the highest of any of the main political parties, was not enough. If this legislation had been in place prior to the election, we would have been required to field a higher number of female candidates. The Bill will help us to reach a fairer balance and demonstrate to society that we want a body politic that represents everybody.

I am aware of the difficulty in encouraging people to run for Parliament. In the 2004 local elections the Labour Party fielded one candidate in my electoral area of County Meath and it was not until 2009 that we managed to persuade three female candidates to run for the county council. I am glad to say all of these candidates were elected. Three of the four Labour Party members of Meath County Council are female, which is a validation of our efforts in the run-up to the 2009 local elections to encourage females to get involved in local politics. Next week Meath County Council will elect Councillor Niamh McGowan as its first ever Labour Party female cathaoirleach. This is a cause for celebration for my party and, I venture, others.

For various reasons, it is difficult for women to get involved in politics. Child care is one reason. All three female members of Meath County Council have children and I recognise from working with them on a daily basis the problems they face in balancing family life with looking after their constituents. It is not always possible to achieve this balance without the necessary support mechanisms. There is an onus on the rest of us not only to pass the Bill but also to reach out to offer help, advice and understanding to those who are thinking about getting involved in local or national politics. It is not an easy task to find the right balance. The Bill will force parties to do more in this regard, but it is not sufficient to merely pass laws. It is incumbent on Members of this House and everybody involved in politics to do more to encourage women to enter the political world.

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