Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 6 proposes to insert a new section 5 into the Bill to require the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas within a period of one year from the enactment of the Bill, setting out the impact that the number of Members allocated to each Dáil constituency may have on delivering a more balanced representation in our Dáil Chamber. Essentially, the proposed amendment would require that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to carry out a particular piece of research on the impact of forthcoming constituencies on Dáil representation. While I accept the good intentions of this amendment, I nevertheless draw the attention of the Houses of the Oireachtas to the Draft Research Programme 2024-2026, published by An Coimisiún Toghcháin on 9 November 2023, and to the accompanying public consultation inviting all interested parties to make submissions on both the draft programme and on any additional research projects that may be considered important to promote and enhance Ireland's democracy in electoral events.

In light of the public consultation process that is now underway, and the fact that An Coimisiún Toghcháin has been assigned an explicit research function under the Electoral Reform Act 2022, I believe it is not necessary to legislate for a specific item of research to be provided for in the Bill. The inclusion of the proposed item of research in an coimisiún's research programme can be considered over the course of the consultation that will take place between the committee and An Coimisiún Toghcháin. In this context, I urge the Senators to make a submission, particularly in relation to this matter. It is a hugely important matter and I agree wholeheartedly with the intent behind the amendment.

There is also a significant responsibility on political parties to ensure that they are not just attracting candidates for winnable seats, but attracting candidates from diverse backgrounds. Certainly, we are making a concerted effort in our own party to ensure that we have a 50:50 gender mix for the local elections next year, that we attract candidates from minority backgrounds and put in place the supports for them to participate and hopefully win seats for us. That is our party's responsibility but I think there is an onus on all political parties to do that. It puts quite a degree of responsibility back on the parties themselves to ensure that. I agree that six-seat constituencies would certainly give a greater chance of candidates successfully emerging out of an election and hopefully populating our Dáil with people from diverse backgrounds. I think we would all like to see that. However, it is important to note that there are a lot of strands to the research programme, including a blue-sky strand. There are a lot of additional, creative pieces of work that the commission could include in the research programme that could give effect to trying to support exactly what the Senators are trying to achieve, which is greater diversity in Irish politics.

Going back to the point about the onus on political parties, it is important to ensure, particularly for next year's local and European elections, that we are making a concerted effort to ensure that we have candidates from more diverse backgrounds. As I said, I think the research programme is the opportunity to try to help shape that in the future. The supports that are put in place and the education and awareness part of it is built into the function of An Coimisiún Toghcháin as well. There is quite a bit of work to be done in terms of promotion and awareness in supporting candidates in electoral events.