Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

I welcome Dr. Mary Henry to the Seanad and commend all she has done for women in politics. Dr. Henry worked with the former Minister, Gemma Hussey, and the former Deputy, Monica Barnes, in that regard. They were three great fighters for women in politics, along with many others. I welcome also the people in the Gallery from the 50:50 Group, the large delegation from Cork, the representatives from Women for Election, as well as Fiona Buckley, Claire McGing and Yvonne Galligan, to name but a few. There are many more present but I will not read out all the names. I welcome also the three men who have come to back them up. That is important because women need men and men need women. The 50:50 Group was given the right name in that regard because it does not mean women representing women but women and men for all.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this historic Bill on political funding and urge its acceptance by the House. It is a landmark day in Irish politics, and for Irish women in particular, and I thank the Minister for introducing it in the Seanad. The proposed legislation puts forward a structured, comprehensive and legally sound basis for transforming the way politics is funded in our country, making our democracy more transparent, achieving greater representation in these Houses in terms of gender balance, and ensuring a more equal and fair society. If the Bill is passed it will be a positive and historic change in the way politics is conducted in Ireland. It will break the ties, be they perceived or otherwise, between business and politics which has long been advocated from all sides of this House but has yet gone undelivered.

The Minister outlined the various changes made regarding political donations and there are huge reductions in that regard. For instance, donations of €6,300 can currently be accepted by a political party but that is being reduced to €2,500 and donations to a candidate are being reduced from €2,500 to €1,000. That is a major change.

I welcome section 8 which proposes the introduction of a register of corporate donors where a donation exceeds €200 a year. That must be welcomed as it makes the donating process more open and transparent, which is what everybody wants.

I welcome the provision in the Bill to place an onus on companies to declare any donations they make to political parties and the new register of political donors, which will be maintained by the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, and will include the names of any corporate owners intending to donate more than €200 to any political party or individual over the calendar year. Furthermore, parties are required to have independently audited accounts. I will not go into detail on that as the Minister outlined it in his contribution.

The Moriarty tribunal recommendations must be mentioned in any discussion about political funding as its findings have made a substantial contribution to the consideration of policy in this area. The recommendations from the tribunal are made in a report that lays bare the failings in the system that existed at that time. While I acknowledge that rules and regulations have changed since the 1990s, some of the failings identified prevailed until today when major changes are being made. It must be noted also that the recommendations and views put forward in the Moriarty tribunal are taken on board in the drafting of this Bill, as well as some similar recommendations made by other bodies.

Ireland is a member of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption. In 2009 that body undertook an evaluation study of Ireland's political system, specifically examining the issue of party funding. Among the recommendations made was that all registered political parties should prepare independently audited accounts that would be made public in a timely and accessible way. The Minister has done that today.

I welcome the provision in the Bill that will penalise political parties that receive State funding if they do not have at least 30% female candidates and 30% male candidates in the next general election. That figure will increase to 40% by 2025. It is hoped that eventually there will be a quota of 50:50, which is the aspiration of the group present in the Gallery, and mine, in a general election.

The debate on the introduction of gender quotas in politics is controversial and the arguments on both sides are compelling. Twenty years ago when I was elected first and new to politics, and even 15 years after that, I was against quotas. Sadly, I had to change my mind because the international evidence is that countries that fair best in equality of representation are those that introduced quotas. At the rate we are going it would take us over 200 years to reach any mass. We must introduce quotas. The international community today recommends that a number of measures be taken to promote more balanced representation of men and women in decision making bodies. The shift in equality policy towards affirmative action policies is supported by the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It is now 33 years later, and that is the reason I changed my mind.

One of the 12 objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 was formulated as women's equal access and full participation in the power structures. The clearly stated aim in that document is to achieve gender balance in the nomination process as well as in all the decision making processes. The platform refers to discriminatory attitudes and practices, unequal power relations, shifting the focus from women, lack of resources, and the practices of political institutions and parties. Consequently, the affirmative actions we are taking under this Bill today are recommended, even if the controversial word "quotas" is not a favourite.

Gender balance in decision making is a stated goal of the European Union. Ireland lags way behind its European Union counterparts when it comes to female participation. If we are to change we have to take affirmative action. During the past 15 years female representation has increased significantly in almost all EU states. Today, the average participation rate in the EU nations is 24%, which I am aware is poor. In Sweden, 45% of the national elected representatives in the Lower House are women. The figure for Norway is 39.6% and the figure for Germany is 32%. Why are the figures greater in those countries? It is because quotas are in place in those countries and they have had successful outcomes. We must follow suit. We do not want to look bad compared to Lesotho, Sudan and Iraq which have higher rates of female representation in their national parliaments. That is a cause for alarm when we consider that these are developing nations which have been war-torn for many years.

The failure of successive Governments and political parties to confront gender imbalance has meant that female representation here has never reached more than 40%. That is a poor reflection of our representative democracy and it is time appropriate measures were taken to address it. I commend the Minister, Deputy Hogan, on taking those measures today.

While the introduction of quotas is necessary if we are to achieve a higher level of female representation, we must examine the best quota application of the PR-STV system that is in place in Ireland. I refer to section 27 which proposes that a reduction of 50% in the funding of political parties will come into effect at the next general election. Alternative methods of encouraging more women to present themselves for election must also be encouraged. That would help to increase the pool of aspiring candidates and make the transition to the conditions of this new legislation more seamless. The direct measures could include supporting women and men in education, provision to reconcile family and public life, available child care facilities, and good maternity and paid paternity leave. The work-life balance of the male and female politician must be examined if we are to encourage balanced representation in these Houses. Measures such as those I have outlined could be considered to enable us achieve our aim. A bottom-up approach must be taken alongside this, which should begin at grassroots level in our schools and homes to promote a work-life balance for all people in political life.

Section 27 amends section 17 of the principal Act. In addition to parties being required to furnish the names of candidates elected and not elected, I suggest that the constituency of the candidate should be submitted to the Standards in Public Office, SIPO, Commission also as this would be useful for academic research after the elections as well as being able to see at a glance the constituencies in which female and male candidates were fielded, and whether there was a balance in terms of three, four and five seat constituencies, to ensure females did not end up in the no hope constituencies, if such constituencies exist.