Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

Quite a number of the amendments that I tabled were ruled out of order. I tried to take one of them directly from an amendment in the Seanad which dealt with vouching moneys. I believe that all public moneys should be properly accounted for and vouched, and I am very disappointed that this has been ruled out of order. I tabled two amendments on the issue and I am disappointed that I did not get to debate them. I thought the amendment which had been tabled in the Seanad, which I changed marginally, would have been accepted as it was accepted in the Seanad. We have to deal with that issue. It is very disappointing that it takes so long to deal with things that are so obviously necessary and the right things to do.

The key issue in the Bill is that of gender quotas and it is really important that this happens. It clearly does not apply to Independents because it is linked to a sanction in the funding system and that particular stream of funding does not apply to Independents. That funding comes under the Electoral Acts, which goes back to the original amendment that I spoke about earlier. The real movement towards a parliament that reflects the citizens should begin at local government level. I accept the Minister's point that the same set of circumstances apply and a sanction is not available to be included in the Bill. It will, however, be essential. If one wants to see a greater number of women in the political system, it will happen at local government level in the first instance. For example, in Kildare, when I stood for election in 2009, there were 43 candidates for county council elections, of whom six were women. There were three electoral areas where there was no choice on the ballot paper. We have to see an end to this type of offering.

There are several provisions missing from this Bill. One hopes we will see more comprehensive legislation to deal with electoral funding in the broader sense. The Standards in Public Office Commission constantly complains every year about the amount of funding that appears to be available, even in election years, that does not find its way through the process of declaration. That impacts very negatively on the political system.

Obviously, Parliament moves slowly and there are other legislative priorities, some of them dictated by outside bodies. Restoring faith in the political system will only happen if political parties and politicians are affected negatively as a consequence of legislation such as this. There are several other elements that should have been contained in this Bill. I will probably end up introducing a Private Members' Bill to address the provisions that were rejected. My amendments that were ruled out of order are long enough to warrant doing that.

I thank the officials involved in putting together this important legislation which I hope will make a difference. The debate on Committee Stage was useful but I believe there is a long way to go before we have a political system that is funded in a way that will be accepted by the citizens.

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