Tuffy challenges Minister over gender quota legislation

ONE OF the Government’s women TDs has challenged Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan over the constitutionality of his gender quota legislation.

Labour backbencher Joanna Tuffy said the measure to halve State funding to parties that do not have at least 30 per cent of their candidates as women at the next general election could prove “constitutionally frail”.

Ms Tuffy has tabled a parliamentary question to Mr Hogan inquiring if he has obtained advice from the Attorney General about the proposal, to which the Cabinet has agreed.

Mr Hogan’s spokeswoman confirmed that formal advice had not yet been received, although the proposed legislation had gone to the Attorney General’s office. “We don’t envisage any difficulties, but formal advice has yet to be received,” the spokeswoman said.

She stressed that under the terms of Electoral Amendment Political Funding Bill 2011, the minimum target applied to each gender and parties must have “at least 30 per cent women candidates and at least 30 per cent men candidates”. The required percentage will rise to 40 per cent in subsequent national elections.

Ms Tuffy’s parliamentary question, due for formal answer next Tuesday, was prompted by her re-examination of the findings of a recent report from the cross-party committee on the Constitution.

The committee of 14 men and one woman warned last July that “any measure which coerced political parties to select certain types of candidates or which imposed a quota in that regard would probably be unconstitutional”.