Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State on the launch of her programme. I sent my apologies as I could not attend due to commitments in the House. It is wonderful to see a programme of events to commemorate women in all guises, particularly, given today's statements, in politics.

The centenary of the extension of the right to vote to women is an important milestone. It is important to celebrate it. However, the struggle for equality continues. Female political representation stands at 22% in the Dáil and 30% in the Seanad. While this is an historic high, it is far from a fair balance. This inequality is reflected in board rooms, managerial positions and pay levels. The 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 serves as a reminder of how far we have come and how far it remains for us to go. The 1918 Act massively expanded voting rights by abolishing practically every property qualification for men and enfranchising women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. However, despite their war contribution, women were still not politically equal to men who could vote at 21 without property restrictions. Full electoral equality was achieved in Ireland in 1922. In a speech in the Dáil on 2 March 1922, Constance Markievicz said women's suffrage was a matter of women voicing their opinions publicly in an ordinary and simple manner by registering the vote in the polling booth. Countess Markievicz was the first ever female MP. In December 1918, while still serving a prison sentence, she was elected to the House of Commons as a representative of Dublin's St. Patrick's division. As an Irish republican, she chose not to take her seat. Later, she served as Minister for Labour in the First Dáil and was a founding member of Fianna Fáil in 1926. However, no other female Minister sat in Cabinet until 1979, when then Fianna Fáil Deputy, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, was appointed Minister for the Gaeltacht. Only 19 women have ever been appointed to Cabinet. Disappointingly, the number of women in the Cabinet was actually diluted by the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, on his appointment.

The gap in representation continues in boardrooms. Ireland's rate of female board membership currently stands at 16%. The National Women's Council of Ireland has called for quotas to ensure fairer female representation in business. Fianna Fáil takes pride in its efforts to expand female participation in politics. We have conducted systematic reviews and actions to boost the numbers going for office and internal party positions. We are committed to addressing issues like the gender pay gap and the five "Cs" which impede female participation in politics and corporate boardrooms. There are now more women in the Lower House of our national Parliament than ever. Female Deputies have grown in number and are rarely lone voices in rooms full of men. A diversity of opinion is needed on the political stage. Women must have a voice in politics because their specific rights and interests will otherwise not be protected. In all, 35 women were elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016 to take 22.3% of the seats contested and to comprise 22.2% of all Deputies. That is a whopping 40% increase from the previous record of 25 women elected in 2011, comprising 15% of Dáil Éireann at the time. Many observers have pointed to this rise as attributable directly to the introduction of gender quotas, which allow for a party's State funding to be cut by half unless 30% of its general election candidates are women.

It is poignant that we celebrate this anniversary today when 25 of the country's 40 constituencies have at least one female representative in the national Parliament as opposed to 22 of the 43 in 2011. A number of barriers continue to exist to the involvement of women in politics. We often hear talk of the five "Cs" , namely, child care, cash, confidence, culture and candidate selection, in this context. I compliment Professor Yvonne Galligan who was instrumental in providing and publishing our own gender equality action plan. She helped the party to make huge strides in bringing women to the national stage, as well as on the local stage and within our smaller cumainn and CDCs nationally.

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