Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have read the Bill and it does not give the option. A woman TD just would not do it. I had my first and only child when I was a Member of the Seanad, so I experienced this matter and I can think of many things that are wrong with the Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, went through some of the issues and I will expand on one of them. He said that we are different because, as office holders, we are not employees. It goes much deeper than that, however. We have been voted in as Teachtaí Dála to represent our constituents and we have a democratic mandate to do so. Who would represent the constituents if a Deputy was not here for up to six months a year? An election could be called two years into a Dáil term while, under this legislation, a woman Deputy could be missing for a whole year if she had children in each of those years. That has happened in here, with women representatives giving birth to children in quick succession. Therefore, constituents might not be represented by one of their TDs for up to a year and there could be an election a year later.

I am trying to look at the practicalities involved. Who would represent those constituents? A court case was brought by Sinn Féin about by-elections not being held within a certain period, thus leaving constituents unrepresented. Yet this Bill proposes that people who vote for women TDs could be left unrepresented for up to six months each time a woman Deputy had a child. That is an important aspect of how we view our roles as TDs. Much of the debate, however, seems to be missing the point about what it means to be a politician in a representative democracy. It is not a job or career; a TD is in the Dáil to represent constituents and raise their issues. That is the constitutional position, so what Fianna Fáil is proposing would almost certainly be unconstitutional.

We all work very hard here, so we know what the work entails. If I were to take leave for six months, who would do my job? Who would represent my constituents in the meantime? Who would follow up my workload? The Minister of State mentioned other parliaments, but they have list systems where people are not directly elected by the people. Under the list system, people are basically appointed by party hierarchies. We do not have that system and the voters do not want it. Anytime they have been polled or surveyed on it they opt to keep our PRSTV system.

As the Minister of State said, what sensible and rational TD would want somebody else to take over their role for six months? What TD would want to have their constituency colleagues mopping up all the votes while they went off for six months and disappeared from public view? That is what maternity leave means - TDs either represent their constituents or not, but they cannot take leave from their representative role.

What if an election was coming up? Under our Constitution, an election can be called at any time. So what would happen if a TD had a child and four months later there was an election? Is that TD supposed to go missing or pull out of running for election? A sitting councillor in my constituency had a child three months before the local elections in 2009. She ran and was re-elected. Why should she be different to any man? If we really want more women in politics, we should not propose that such a person pulls out and takes maternity leave.

The Bill totally disadvantages women in many ways, including the perception of women and their role as elected representatives. If this legislation was to be passed and women took it up, it would leave the field entirely to their rivals in the meantime. To get elected one must ask the people to vote for you. That is the kind of democracy we are living in. The best democracy is when one must seek votes and then represent the people when elected.

There are other practicalities involved. Would a woman Minister disappear for six months and let one of her male colleagues take over as a Minister in the meantime? How would that progress the participation of women in public life? On the other hand, would the electorate vote for women candidates if they thought that, once elected, women might absent themselves from their role as public representatives for up to six months a year while sitting as TDs?

The Bill perpetuates a very old-fashioned view of the way things are between men and women. I am glad the Minister of State picked up on the fact that fathers are parents too. In my personal experience, as a woman who had a child while serving as a Member of the Oireachtas, I found my colleagues were very supportive. They facilitated me when I had the child. I did not absent myself from my responsibilities but my colleagues facilitated me in terms of votes, as the Minister of State has suggested. One does not get the same support for male TDs and Senators when they become fathers, which is wrong. Both men and women are parents and parenting should be a shared responsibility. This Bill perpetuates the notion that it is all about the mothers.

The idea that a woman TD would be paid €92,000 for not representing her constituents is nonsense. Our constitutional role as TDs is to represent our constituents in the Dáil, whether in budgets, legislation or otherwise, while holding various public bodies to account.

As someone who has had a child while a sitting Oireachtas Member, I can think of many practical things that could be done to support women. Some of them have been outlined by the Minister of State and I welcome his approach to this legislation. When I had my child a crèche was opened across the road in Kildare House. That was helpful to me because if meant I could leave my child into the crèche. I welcomed that initiative and I know other TDs and Senators also used that facility. The fact that I could use it on a drop-in basis was great because it meant there was flexibility for me. The one problem with the crèche is that it is only open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so it is closed even if the Dáil sits late. The crèche should be open longer so that Oireachtas Members with babies could make full use of it.

At that time, I sought baby changing facilities to be put in the disabled toilet opposite the Visitors' Bar and that was done. At the same time, other facilities were put in around the Houses of the Oireachtas which were helpful for those with young children. There could be many more such facilities. Leinster House is not a very child-friendly place. Before children go to school, one needs to bring them in here but one is conscious that they can become bored and might make noise. It can be awkward having a child in here, so I always thought there should be a family room so one would not have to take a child to the canteen or the bar, so that people could work in the office. Small practical steps like that would help women.

The other thing that is most important for women politicians is to introduce paternity leave, not for TDs but for employees.

Such a measure would be welcomed by women and men all over the country because many women, particularly those who are self-employed, do not wish to take up to half a year out of the workforce but would like to share parenting responsibilities with their partners. Were the partner of a female politician able to take paternity leave, it would be very helpful to women who are elected representatives.

The question of sitting hours has been mentioned by many Deputies. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that come the next budget, Members will not have the same experience as in recent budgets, which was much too intense and stressful for all Deputies. It is very difficult in respect of one's family life, mental health and so on. The hours are too long, the period is too intense and ordinary Deputies do not have enough say in the budget anyway. This is another thing that must be changed by the Government Whips and those in power, namely, the Government, whose Ministers need to change this practice. I urge people to avoid proposing that sessions in the Chamber should run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week, because that of course would be disastrous for both male and female Deputies from outside Dublin who have children or other caring responsibilities and who seek any kind of work-life balance.

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