IRELAND: Parliamentary Election
Ireland will hold parliamentary elections February 25th.
Ireland has a bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consisting of the Senate (Seanad Éireann) with 60 seats and the House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann) with 166 seats. At stake in this election are the 166 seats in the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a single transferable vote (STV) proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.
For more information on the Irish electoral system, please visit the IFES Election Guide webpage on Ireland here.
Irish Elections
Sadly there will be no breakthrough for women in the upcoming general election, in fact the polls predict that with so many women resigning from the Dail (parliament) there will most likely be a reduction in the numbers of women elected.
Other than the Labour Party in Ireland, none of the other parties have any active policies for encouraging women to join. The bottle neck is at local level and with no policies in place it is extremely difficult for women to be endorsed at local level. It is time to see some quotas in place in Ireland to drag politics in to the 21st Century and realise the critical mass so badly need for women in Irish politics.
The Irish Independent: Candidates bridge the gender gap
Men dominated the political scene in Carlow-Kilkenny yesterday but while they were busy, the constituency's four women candidates were posing on an iconic bridge.
Green Party deputy leader Mary White, Fianna Fail councillor Jennifer Murnane O'Connor, Labour Cllr Ann Phelan and Sinn Fein Cllr Kathleen Funchion are the women running for election in Carlow-Kilkenny.
To read the full article, click here.
Irish Elections
Sadly there will be no breakthrough for women in the upcoming general election, in fact the polls predict that with so many women resigning from the Dail (parliament) there will most likely be a reduction in the numbers of women elected.
Other than the Labour Party in Ireland, none of the other parties have any active policies for encouraging women to join. The bottle neck is at local level and with no policies in place it is extremely difficult for women to be endorsed at local level. It is time to see some quotas in place in Ireland to drag politics in to the 21st Century and realise the critical mass so badly need for women in Irish politics.
The Irish Independent: Candidates bridge the gender gap
Men dominated the political scene in Carlow-Kilkenny yesterday but while they were busy, the constituency's four women candidates were posing on an iconic bridge.
Green Party deputy leader Mary White, Fianna Fail councillor Jennifer Murnane O'Connor, Labour Cllr Ann Phelan and Sinn Fein Cllr Kathleen Funchion are the women running for election in Carlow-Kilkenny.
To read the full article, click here.