I should first compliment my colleague, Deputy Gay Mitchell, on having undertaken the necessary research, drafting and presentation of this Bill. In so doing he has addressed a fundamental problem. Much legislation has been processed through this House over the years to redress various inequalities in different sectors, whether that be in the labour, family home or other areas. The fundamental problem lies within our Constitution.
I was very disappointed at Deputy Roche's contribution here this evening. It became very clear to me that he does not understand its superiority or the way our Constitution supersedes all legislation passed by these Houses or indeed any case law decided by our courts. The Constitution is the final legal document protecting the interests of our people. Finally, everything rests on the Constitution, whether it be legislation going through these Houses or case law determined in our courts.
In introducing this Bill, Deputy Gay Mitchell has addressed the central issue of the real problem that is within the Constitution. Over the years we have reacted, in particular since 1973, to EC Directives. Were it not for some of those directives much legislation would not have been processed in this House. That, coupled with the work undertaken by the Council for the Status of Women and various women's organisations — who over the years exerted pressure on successive Governments — has resulted in much legislation being introduced in this House.
We should be aware of the fact that the United Nations established a committee to examine the whole question of discrimination against and equality for women. In Article 2 of their report they recommended that all member states should ensure, in their Constitutions — be they written or otherwise — that any such discrimination obtaining is redressed or eliminated.
Deputy Gay Mitchell, on behalf of the Fine Gael Party, has taken a major stride forward, as has been the record of Fine Gael in the past. Over the years Fine Gael have been the one party in this House that adopted a very progressive approach to equality legislation, reform and the overall position of the role of women in Irish society. They have been to the forefront on that issue.
I am delighted that once again we are taking another forward step. Unfortunately, Deputy Roche did not appreciate that fact. He attempted to denigrate the Fine Gael attempt in introducing this Bill to the House as being a cheap publicity stunt. On the part of somebody who appears to be so learned, who reads into the record of this House so many pieces of academic knowledge, it is amazing Deputy Roche is not aware of the basic fact, which is the superiority of the Constitution vis-à-vis all legislation passed in any form.
I am sorry that Deputy Roche is not present in order to give him that basic lesson in legal education, something of which most people are aware. In attempting to denigrate the Bill Deputy Roche has demonstrated a regressive type of attitude. Indeed, some of his colleagues on the far side of the House, in particular the Minister of State present — with whom I worked on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Women's Rights for five years — must have been somewhat taken aback at some of the regressive ideas he presented to the House this evening. I do not think some views he expounded would have had the full support of some of his colleagues, which is unfortunate. Indeed, he would appear to advocate less progress than, say, the founder of his party, Eamon de Valera, who at various stages attempted to amend the Constitution.
Deputy Roche argued this evening that referenda are clumsy instruments that cannot deal with fundamental issues that properly should be dealt with by way of statutory law. That is an appalling statement on the part of any Member of this House. All public representatives should recognise the value of referenda. The difficulty here is that we have not had sufficient referenda; they have not been a feature of our political life. One need only examine the position in other countries, in particular Switzerland, where referenda are held on various issues every few months, they being a common feature of political life there.
It is important that we view referenda as being part of the political process, as fundamental to a good political democratic process rather than be fearful of them. In discussing referenda this evening Deputy Roche lectured us on this side of the House on our experience vis-à-vis referenda in the past, advising us that we should be fearful of them. That is most unfortunate. I would appeal to the Government parties to adopt a different attitude. Referenda are good and the people always should have their say.
This Bill, if enacted, would present the people with an opportunity to register their views on Article 41 of the Constitution which clearly discriminates against women. That Article states that women have a particular position within Irish society, that being very much within the home — referring specifically to the home, the family, the woman, the mother. At no time is the man or the father referred to in the Constitution. Rather the Constitution talks about the duties of the woman, of the mother in the home. One could say that the woman in the home who does not happen to be a mother is discriminated against also. There is serious discrimination in this Article.
The political climate is now right for the House to examine this issue and recognise that the women of Ireland and, indeed, many of the men, are anxious that the discrimination should discontinue. We will have a very real political opportunity on local election day on 27 June to present the people with a referendum. It would not cost the State any extra money because an election is being held on that date. It would be an ideal time to put this issue to our people.
I hope the other parties in the House will see the wisdom of the proposal by Deputy Gay Mitchell. It is specific and positive, one that deserves support. It is supported by the various women's organisations. When the womens group of the Irish Council of Civil Liberties sought to redress this aspect of the Constitution they made a recommendation that an equal rights clause be inserted into Article 40. Their reason for making that submission was that they believed that such a clause would provide a legal definition of equality which at present is not in the Constitution. Article 40 does not state clearly that discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited. It is important this matter be addressed. Groups such as the Irish Council of Civil Liberties do not make recommendations without having them thoroughly examined and fully analysed and we should recognise that fact. What is being proposed is not dramatic or radical; it is something that is now required in a society progressing into the nineties and moving on to the next century.
As members of the European Community, we have an obligation to eliminate from our Constitution any discriminatory clauses. Only last week the Second Commission on the Status of Women, established by the Taoiseach last November, produced an extensive list of recommendations. It is amazing that, despite all the talk we have had for the past 20 years in relation to equality for women in Irish society, so many inequalities exist. One of the recommendations of the Commission was that legislation should be introduced immediately giving each spouse equal rights of automatic beneficial ownership of the family home and household chattels. That is a very important recommendation because, as the House is aware, the position in law is that the purchase price of the house and the amount contributed by either spouse is taken into consideration and allowance is not made for the work a woman does in the house or the contribution she has made over the years, even the financial contribution. Our thoughts will have to move from financial contributions to real contributions in the type of work done and the effort made to rear a family, manage a household and an income. Under our family law no consideration is given to that contribution. That recommendation was made no later than last week yet Government speakers strongly oppose the recommendations put forward by Deputy Gay Mitchell.
One of the proposals put forward was that national lottery and other public funds should not be allocated to private clubs that operate discriminatory policies against women. All Members are aware of the clubs throughout the country, private and not too private, that operate definite discriminatory policies against women, yet successive Government Departments allocate public funds to them. It is time the Government, and each Department, laid down conditions that any club which actively discriminates against women or any group should not receive public moneys. That should be a fundamental principle of all Government Departments and every Member should support it.
It is unfortunate that taxpayers are paying money into the Exchequer to have allocated to clubs that operate discriminatory policies. I hope the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, who is present will actively pursue that matter with the Taoiseach and the Government because it is despicable. I note that in the past she supported this thinking. I listened to Deputy Roche and was appalled at some of the comments he made but I was consoled to see the Minister of State present knowing that she had different thoughts and was somewhat more progressive than Deputy Roche.
The Second Commission on the Status of Women recommended that the Government should appoint a fifth member to the top level appointments committee. I am sure the Minister will respond to that recommendation because it should be seriously considered.
Deputy Mitchell, in the course of his contribution, outlined much of the case law against women and where the Constitution had not protected the rights of women. Those cases are now on record. Deputy Roche attempted to confuse the issue and I suggest he misquoted and misrepresented the record of the House in what Deputy Mitchell said last week.
One of the most serious problems in relation to discrimination against women is the attitude that exists. There is an attitude among the public in general that is so basic that it will have to be addressed. The Department of Education can do much to redress that inequality. Attempts have been made over the past five or six years to change the style of text books so that men and women are not put into particular role models. There is still within our society an attitude — and, perhaps, Deputy McGahon reflected it partly in what he said in relation to women — that once women have children they should be there to rear them until they get on their feet. Deputy McGahon forgot to refer to the fact that there is also a father. He did not appear to believe the father had any obligation to be at home until the child got on his or her feet. That view reflects the thinking of many males in Ireland. To get those males to come out of their cosy condition and state of mind will require a dose of shock treatment. It is about time the legislators gave them the shock treatment. Nothing would be better than to present them with a referendum which would challenge their beliefs. People may say they espouse equality but when you scratch the surface you might find they are not very sincere in what they say and that fundamentally they believe equality is grand at a distance but they do not want to bring it too close to home. It might be no harm to give people the opportunity to reflect on their attitudes and perhaps call a halt to hypocrisy on the role of women.
It is commonly said that the woman's place is in the home and I am sure every lady Member of this House, all 13 of us, has been asked at different times if it would not be fitter for us to be at home. That attitude still prevails and there will have to be a great deal of work done to change that attitude. Young children, despite what they are being taught at home, will have very definite attitudes on what A and B should be doing once the forces of society come into play. This problem will have to be addressed through the educational system first and then through legislation in this House and a referendum.
The 1986 census showed that we had a population of 3.54 million, of which over 50 per cent were women. It is timely that women be given an opportunity of registering their voice on the issue of equality and registering their vote at the most fundamental level, which is the Constitution. It is unfortunate that some Members do not recognise the superior position of our Constitution over all other legislation. This is the real place to address the issue of equality and having addressed the issue in the Constitution, all other legislation would have to abide by the Constitution, as amended. Deputy Mitchell's amendment is highly commendable. He must be commended for the progressive attitude he has taken on this issue and on the research and work he has done. I ask the other Members to fully support this Bill.