Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute briefly to this debate. I thank Deputy Higgins for bringing forward this Private Members' Bill. I know it has been in the lottery, as such, for some time but not nearly as long as the EU has been waiting to pass the relevant directive. We are all disappointed by that, but it makes eminent sense to combine the two efforts. I hope that it can be done in an expeditious manner because, unfortunately, we do have an issue when it comes to transposing European directives in that they can sometimes be left on the back-burner. An initiative such as this cannot be left on the back-burner.

Many people will speak to various aspects of the importance of this legislation. While the equality efforts and the efforts for a greater improvement in the workplace is one, fundamentally, this is a move that is good for business. It is good for corporate Ireland and will improve the outlook for so many different businesses and corporations in this country as they look to move to a more secure and sustainable future. Companies do better when they have more diverse boards in a corporate setting that look more like the society they are trying to sell to. Unfortunately, we are stuck in a situation where that is not the case for far too many companies, sometimes for reasons beyond their own control. It is very hard when one is running a business. The Minister has outlined the difficulties that might be faced by certain SMEs in terms of working with this proposed piece of legislation.

That is where the Government must come in; the issue cannot just be left to the market. That aspect is fundamental and it is at the heart of the Bill. I am very grateful to Deputy Higgins for bringing it to the Dáil.

The global example in this area is quite clear, particularly in our near neighbourhood in the European Union, where member states, cognisant of their responsibilities under the draft directive, have put in place measures to ensure their corporate and company boards look more like society. This is a welcome development and it should be pushed forward more aggressively. The Deputy has set a fine example in this Bill. She suggested its provisions are not necessarily just for corporations. We need to lead by example in this Chamber and that is why the move at the next general election to have 40% gender quotas on electoral tickets is a sound one. I have been fully supportive of the quotas since they were introduced. We need to see this legislation brought forward in tandem with the directive to ensure we are providing the example for society more widely.

If the Acting Chairman permits, I will digress briefly to raise an issue I am particularly passionate about and which, unfortunately, has met with resistance and has stalled since it was first proposed by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, when he had responsibility for sport at the then Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. I refer to the introduction of gender quotas for the boards of management of the national governing bodies of sporting associations. The idea of "if you can't see it, you can't be it" is eminently important and is as applicable to the corporate world as it is to the sporting world, the political world, education settings and much more. We must seek, genuinely and ambitiously, to reach a situation in the next decade whereby the boards of our sporting organisations have 50% representation for women. That will set an example for society as a whole to follow and we might see the sports pages of our national media dedicating more than one or two column inches and the odd photograph to women's sports. The Irish women's hockey team is currently participating in the World Cup in the Netherlands. The Northern Irish women's football team is participating in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022. We have a slew of Irish boxers about to go to the Commonwealth Games. We have many amazing Irish sportswomen, a large number of whom are amateur athletes who combine their sports career with participation in the workforce, including within the corporate world. I understand a number of members of the Irish women's hockey team have progressive employers who are allowing them the time off to represent our country.

This legislation goes to the very heart of our societal responsibilities at this time to ensure we actively lead the political process to ensure we have genuine gender equality, instead of simply talking about it or putting out the hashtags. I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to supporting it through all Stages as Deputy Higgins works hand in hand with the Government to take it forward.

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