Party Leader Eamon Gilmore at LW National Conference : Revised programme for Govmnt shows no one in Govmnt willing to stand up for women's rights

Issued : Saturday 17 October, 2009



I would like to welcome you all here today to what I am sure will be a very interesting and productive conference.



The perennial question for those of us who believe in equality, and a healthy democracy, is how to get more women elected to the Dáil.



I went to an all-boys boarding school, where the complete absence of women was an entirely unnatural experience. The closest I have come to it since, is the Dáil chamber.



Out of the 166 deputies in the Dáil, only 23 are women, or 13 per cent. Yet, step outside onto Kildare Street, and half the people walking down it are women. Walk into most offices, and half of those working there will be women. Stroll through Trinity College, and more than half of the people you encounter will be women. That's real life.



Real life is what representative democracy is supposed to reflect. So is it any wonder that voters often perceive politics as being at a remove from their daily lives, when only one in eight members of our national parliament is a woman?



We in the Labour Party are in a better position to talk about representative democracy than most. One third of our TDs are women, compared with a mere 9 per cent in Fianna Fail, and 10 per cent in Fine Gael.



22 per cent of our city and county councillors are women, compared to 18 per cent nationally.



We were the first party to put a woman in the Park.



And we have a woman lord mayor.



Of course, we have further to travel. Our goal is equal representation: to reflect the make-up of the communities who elect us, and who we represent in local councils, in the Dáil and in the Seanad.



As a party, we already have a number of policies in place to increase the number of women elected to local government and the Dáil, such as mentoring of new candidates by women TDs and councillors, and our efforts to increase the number of women candidates put forward in the recent local elections.



In March, we also published a Bill that would incentivise all political parties to increase the number of women candidates they nominate for Dáil elections, by linking public funding to the proportion of women candidates, or elected representatives.



However, we all know that legislation alone will not bring more women into politics. It is the culture of politics - a culture that too often discourages women's participation - that has to change.



We are living through a remarkable period of flux in Irish politics. But, even amidst all this change, some things remain, stubbornly, as they ever were.



Take the revised Programme for Government, recently negotiated with such theatre by the Green Party and Fianna Fáil. Much was made by the Green Party ministers of electoral reform, yet on the subject of women's representation in politics, all that was included was a watery proposal that an Electoral Commission would "advise" on mechanisms to increase the participation of women in political life.



Again, a vague commitment was made to report on how the recession was impacting women's access to employment, political representation, and public services. Yet was no mention of reversing the decision to axe a universal cervical cancer vaccine for young girls - a measure that would have cost only €16 million. This is, by any estimation, an obstacle to young girls accessing what could be a life-saving public health programme. Can we look forward to that being reported to the Dáil?



What is abundantly clear from the Programme for Government is that there is no one on the government benches - Fianna Fáil or Green Party - willing to stand up for women's rights.



This has been a time of transformation, too, for the Labour Party. Long regarded as the half party in a two and a half party system, for the first time since its foundation, the Labour Party in Ireland has a credible prospect of leading the next government. Some change, however, has been slower than others.



Recently, I attended a meeting of new members in Dublin city centre; it was nearly all men. I was also at a meeting of new, younger members in DCU. Again, it was mostly men. I chaired a hustings for the students' union in Trinity where, once more, most of the candidates were men. I have to say, I was disappointed.



If these are the seed beds for future election candidates, it does not bode well for our target of equal representation.



Politics is not deliberately anti-women, but there are real obstacles that keep women out.



Firstly, there is the way we do it. The adversarial, 'Punch and Judy' nature of Irish politics turns women off. They are not interested in a contest where, too often, he who shouts loudest, wins.



The challenge here is to make Irish politics issue-led, not ego-led. Since the economic crisis began, the Labour Party has focussed on the real economy. For everyone except insulated Fianna Fáil Ministers and a chorus of economic commentators (all of whom are men), it is the only economy - the one where jobs are gained or lost, where the household budget is managed, and where businesses thrive or fail. We have attracted support consistently in the polls, not because of what we oppose, but because of what we stand for. That will continue to be our most important asset in the next electoral contest.



Secondly, being an elected representative is extremely demanding on one's time, on one's family, and on one's life.



It is a competitive profession, and demands long and anti-social hours. It is extremely difficult for aspiring candidates, for example, to combine attendance at weeknight residents' association or community group meetings, or canvassing, with the practical demands of bringing up a family and bringing in an income.



If you do manage to get elected, the demands on your time become even greater. As well as being active in your community, you also have to manage evening council meetings, or late night Dáil sessions.



These are the stark facts of a life in politics and, arguably, will be the most difficult to change. Difficult, but not impossible. One part of the solution, for example, might be to agree more family-friendly working practices for the Dáil and for local councils.



Thirdly, there is the old problem of the chicken and the egg: there are not enough women in politics, so it is perceived as a boys-only club, which in turn discourages women from getting involved.



The election of Mary Robinson in 1990 changed the way a generation saw the presidency. It also changed the way we saw ourselves. It was a moment of modernity, and of hope. That is how powerful role models can be.



The Labour Party's Bill to achieve more equal gender representation in the Dáil will go some way towards changing the face of elected politics, which will, in turn attract more women into public life.



The responsibility to make politics an equal opportunities occupation lies with both men and women. But we do need a critical mass of elected women representatives to drive a real culture change in our democratic institutions, and to change public expectations.



Of course, to get anyone elected, requires hard graft. It takes time, energy and funds.



I wish you well in your endeavours in the second half of this conference, which is dedicated to just that: the practical ways in which we can get more women elected to public office.



The Labour Party's history, and its current elected representatives, demonstrate the rich dividend we reap from the electoral success of women candidates. It is in our own party's interest, as well as the interests of wider democracy, to draw in as much talent as we can. That means looking beyond the traditional routes by which people come to politics.



We will be actively looking for new candidates for the next Dáil election, where we will be building on the success of the local and European elections. Our challenge, as a party, is to deliver a Labour government that reflects life as it is lived in modern Ireland - by women and men.



The Labour Party will lead, as it has in the past, the drive for political reform. Our purpose now, as it has always been, will be to improve the quality of our democracy, so that government by the people - all of the people - means just that.