Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Maternity Protection (Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas) Bill 2013. I speak today as a member of the Technical Group which has the highest representation of women, at 25%, of any grouping here in the Dáil. The Independent grouping has female representation of over 20%. That may say more about the party system than it does about the willingness of women to be represented here in this House when one can see that we have the highest percentage of female representation of any grouping in the House.

The Bill is part of a package that is intended to make political representation more attractive for women and to give the role of women more consideration in terms of political life and serving here in this House. It is important that we remove whatever barriers exist to ensure that women feel free to stand for election and get elected, and that when they get here the working arrangements suit their lives so they can provide the representation they wish and represent all citizens across the country equally. For those reasons, the Bill must be welcomed. Over the coming short period, I hope to see the other legislation mentioned coming forward. That would help to remove the barriers to women's participation in political life to ensure that there is such required representation.

As has been outlined by other speakers, there is a need to look at how the working arrangements here can be made more amenable to all Members of the House. This would enable Members to plan and know clearly well in advance what they are doing, and even the system of information on what legislation will be debated, so that Members can properly prepare and participate fully here as legislators.

The one note of concern I would raise is that the Bill comes in the context of the Government's decision to tax maternity benefits of working women across the country. No doubt the provisions in section 7, which provide for full pay for Members who take maternity leave, are generous, and rightly so, but that is in the context of working women not enjoying the same entitlements across the State. The Bill should be looked at in the context of providing proper statutory maternity cover for all women in the State. Some employments have various systems, such as teachers who enjoy a level of maternity pay top-up agreed through their unions in discussions with the Department of Education and Skills. Some good employers provide maternity pay top-up in addition to maternity benefit for women workers as well, but I would be concerned that the provisions here for full pay for Members would reinforce the perception among the public of a sense of privilege enjoyed by Members of this House. We should be looking at it in the context of all women workers. Right across society, in the upper echelons of all industries, businesses and Departments, women are under represented and if we want to really achieve proper representation by women in this House, we need to ensure that they are represented across the board in all sectors of society. The Government should look at extending that further in the context of this Bill.

In saying that, the Bill must be welcomed. The intention is honourable and good in terms of making this workplace more attractive for women to participate in and making it easier for women when they get here to achieve the goal of being able to contribute fully, to know that their needs will be respected whenever they become pregnant and to know that they can continue in their role as representatives. For that reason, notwithstanding the concerns I outlined, I welcome the Bill.

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