TDs should ‘mentor’ female candidates

LEGISLATION requiring political parties to have a certain number of female candidates is “halfway there”.

This is according to Labour candidate Kathleen Lynch who proposed that women TDs should each mentor a potential female candidate on the workings of politics.

This idea was supported by all six of the other female candidates in Cork.

Ms Lynch said that if this coming Dáil term runs to its full five years then in the fourth year the female candidates should look at this mentoring idea.

All female candidates in Cork were at the Meet the Women Candidates breakfast briefing at the Imperial Hotel organised by the 50:50 group, which is seeking equal political representation.

Fine Gael’s Deirdre Clune and Áine Collins, Labour’s Kathleen Lynch and Paula Desmond, Sandra McLellan of Sinn Féin, Ann Foley of the ULA and independent Claire Cullinane were in attendance.

Just 86 of the 564 candidates in this election are women — which is just 15% of the total. In Cork, with 19 seats available just seven women have been selected to run.

Ms Desmond said that it can be tough going for female politicians but it is doable.

“There are the same difficulties now for women getting through the ceiling as there was in 1985,” she said.

“Women are at the heart of the community but not at the heart of politics,” she added.

Ms Clune said women have something different to say in politics. She said parties should adopt targets on the number of females they put forward in elections.

She also said she is being challenged more in this campaign than ever before.

“People are very concerned,” she said.

The 50:50 group is seeking legislation to oblige political parties to implement candidate selection quotas.

“We believe that without affirmative action our democracy will remain incomplete. Ireland also has international obligations to adopt positive action measures to achieve better representation levels,” said group spokeswoman, Sandra McAvoy.