Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I can understand clearly where Deputies Donnelly and Murphy are coming from. The gender balance provisions we are putting in the Bill are ambitious. It refers to the participation of women in politics in particular, but we must be conscious of the fact that 15.19% of candidates elected in the last general election were women. It is a fair challenge to get to 30% between now and the next election, unless there is a cultural change in the political system. The 30% requirement will double the amount of female participation in the next general election. It is a matter for the electorate then to decide whether they want to elect those people, whether they are male or female.

We studied the recent French elections. A parity law was introduced in France in 2000 and it provided for a gender balance in candidate selection at general elections. It linked candidate selection to the funding of political parties, in a similar way to what we are doing here. By 2007, the number of women elected to the French National Assembly stood at just 18.5%, but on 17 June 2012, the number of women elected increased to 26.8%. It has taken a bit of time since 2000 to increase the number of women elected to the French National Assembly by 50%. There are now 155 women in the French National Assembly. It took a period of time for people to gear up to the notion that we should make a bigger political and cultural effort to bring about a greater gender balance in the make-up of our parliamentary system.

I understand the bona fides of Deputy Donnelly and what he is trying to achieve. Let us see how we can bed in the 30% quota for the next election. There is nothing stopping any future Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government amending that legislation after that election, so that the momentum to which the Deputy refers can be maintained. I will be glad to keep an eye on this. I am sure all Members who spoke on the issue are not divided on the principle of it, but perhaps we are taking a more pragmatic approach in the political system to ensuring we do not fall flat on our faces when achieving the objective of increasing the participation of women in politics.

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