Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Carroll MacNeill for all her work on this and for bringing this Bill before the House. The fact that it has such strong cross-party support is welcome and good to see. That speaks to the fact that this Bill is a common sense one that would make life in politics more inclusive, family friendly and flexible in adapting to emergency situations when they arise.

This is a particularly important Bill for women. The lack of provision for maternity and family leave can be off-putting for young women considering a career in politics and as Deputy Carroll MacNeill has outlined, the Bill would provide for a proxy parliamentary voting system to formally allow various types of leave, including maternity, parental and adoptive leave, a provision we definitely need. Recently we were forced to look at this matter and the fact that no Cabinet Minister previous to the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, had ever been pregnant in office tells us all we need to know about how welcoming Irish politics is for young women who want to start a family. I hope this Bill will encourage a conversation and start a process of significant and positive change to improve our parliamentary community. For so long we have witnessed real barriers to consideration of a career in our national Parliament. This Bill was a key recommendation of the Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament last year, which was initiated by our Ceann Comhairle. It is a recommendation that will make life as a parliamentarian a more attractive, rewarding and accessible career option for people from every walk of life.

This is important given the challenges we faced in these past two years. It is vital that lessons are learned and that we properly equip ourselves for any potential future emergencies that might arise. It is also important that any fears about this measure being abused should be alleviated by the fact that the Bill would provide for remote or proxy voting only in limited and specified circumstances. We need our Parliament to be more diverse, flexible and adaptable. I welcome the role this Bill will play in improving parliamentary life on both those fronts.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The Deputy is an active member of the Oireachtas women’s caucus, which is a great example of female parliamentarians coming together, leaving their politics at the door and utilising their time to unite in their cause for a diverse and inclusive Parliament and for legislation that benefits women up and down this country. Deputy Carroll MacNeill comes from a legal background and it is fantastic to see her utilising her professional experience and technical knowledge to bring forward such a progressive Bill. Deputy Carroll MacNeill and I worked together for a while about a decade ago and I can clearly remember her answer from then when someone asked her what was her favourite book. It was Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Constitution of Ireland. That is why it is so special to see her bringing forward a Bill today that may well pave the way to an amendment to that very Constitution. I congratulate the Deputy; well done.

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