Dáil debates
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Maternity Protection (Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members]
6:55 pm
James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source
I commend my colleagues, Deputies Rabbitte and Niamh Smyth, on putting this legislation forward. Deputy Butler and the Sinn Féin Deputies have also contributed to a very interesting debate. As a parent, I am aware of the challenges this occupation, vocation or moment of madness places on us. It can be difficult to separate the formal responsibilities from the informal ones. We can talk about the operation of the House and the roles we have in the Chamber, legislation and so on. We all know, however, that it never really stops. One of the speakers talked about somebody coming out of the maternity ward with the phone ringing. That goes on as well.
When I first got into politics, in the 2009 local elections, I proudly attended the selection convention having been ratified. My wife and two small children were present. I heard an outgoing councillor who had served a number of years giving a speech reflecting back on his career. He was almost apologising to his family for what had gone on for the previous 20 or 30 years. He had missed occasions and various special events in the family's life. It was sobering for me to hear that as a person entering politics. My wife asked me afterwards if I was really sure I wanted to go down this road, but it is too late now.
There are challenges to us as parents but particularly to women. The indomitable Mary O'Rourke, another former Fianna Fáil female Minister, following on from the tradition of Countess Markievicz, told a story about how she had been in a Cabinet meeting when Charles J. Haughey was Taoiseach. The meeting had been convened on a Sunday. Every Member of the Cabinet wanted to get the meeting finished by lunchtime because they had better get home for the Sunday roast. Mary was saying she was the only one in the Cabinet who was going home to shop for and cook the roast as well. We hope that times have changed and that there is a bit more gender equality in the kitchen as well as in the Dáil. There are huge responsibilities and they very often do fall on the mother in those sorts of roles.
The quota system seems to be working in some regards. It is a leg up in any case to help people get started. We would like to see more female Deputies participating and being elected through that system. It seems to be off to a good start and to be making progress. Speaking in a gender neutral way, I mentioned privacy. We do not often get to talk about these issues. In terms of the privacy and the demands, even on mental health, it is a very onerous position that we hold in this House and in terms of the wider responsibilities that flow from it. It can be difficult to keep the whole show on the road so it is important that Members get space and time. Certainly at maternity time it is very important that they would be allowed that space.
It is a very positive, progressive step to allow the Member to step back and concentrate on their very important maternal duties during that time. In order for the House to go on and for their duties to be fulfilled, however, I suggest that we examine a substitute system. The Minister of State has spoken about it. There are good arguments for having parliamentary substitutes. There are obviously constituency commitments as well. It may be worth examining a parliamentary substitute system in respect of votes, legislation, amendments and committee participation. Across Europe and the world there are different models. Some European parliaments allow a temporary substitute to be appointed. It is a member state competency to determine electoral laws in this regard. That might make sense. The Member could also rest easy and would be a little more comfortable taking time out in the knowledge that somebody else was performing his or her role. Even in a situation of a tight vote being lost, as nearly happened an hour ago on a different Bill, it would seem very unfair if someone was taking rightful time off and that this would weigh heavily on him or her.
A political reform proposal for a delegate system was included in the Fianna Fáil manifesto of 2011 for when a Deputy becomes a Minister. Ministers take on additional responsibilities such as running a Department and engaging with civil society and multiple stakeholders at national and senior level in addition to their constituency responsibilities. We proposed that a Minster would cease being a Deputy for the duration of his or her office and that a substitute would come in instead. That proposal is in the same vein as the substitute proposed here. It could apply in other areas such as where somebody has a long-term illness or cannot attend for other reasons. It should be explored and I look forward to seeing where the debate goes.
My final point is not related to the provisions of the Bill. I have attended a few of these Thursday evening debates. They are a very good opportunity to air a particular issue. There tends to be a collaborative approach and tonight is no exception, perhaps because the official business is almost over. I propose that the Business Committee examines doubling up on these debates. Two hours are allocated but they often seem to finish within 40 or 50 minutes. There is a logjam of Private Members' Bills and motions that we are trying to get through. There is a lottery and I ring every week to see where my own Bills and motions are and if they have come out the far side. If we could double up on that, it would immediately double productivity, which would be a good result for the Oireachtas.
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