Women failed by political system, admits Taoiseach

THE political system has been a failure in terms of getting women involved in elected office, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Defending the decision to legislate for gender quotas in candidate selection for the next general election, he said encouraging greater participation by women in public life would lead to “better politics”.

“I know that quotas and the issue of quotas is always a cause of energetic debate,” Mr Kenny told a How To Elect More Women conference in Dublin.

Draft legislation requiring political parties to have at least 30% women candidates in the 2016 general election comes before the Seanad in the next fortnight. The quota will increase to 40% within seven years and parties that do not comply will have their state funding cut.

Mr Kenny said it was important that debate on the issue begin now. “If we are to succeed in this objective by 2016 we need to start work now. That means that political parties, women activists and women candidates all have a role to play in this particular mission.”

He faced criticism for not applying the new law to the 2014 local elections which he acknowledged provided many TDs and senators with their first experience of elected office.

There was also criticism of the budget decision to cut funding for the National Women’s Council of Ireland by 35%. NWCI chief executive Susan McKay declined her invitation to address the conference in protest.

Just 15% of TDs are women and across all elected bodies, including the Dáil, Seanad, European Parliament and local councils, the average is 25%.

Claire McGing of NUI Maynooth, who has researched the subject, said there was a particular dearth of women representing rural constituencies because the attitude to female participation was more conservative and because of practical difficulties in being away from home.

Senator Ivana Bacik said Ireland had fallen from 37th place in the global league of participation by women in politics in 1990 to 79th as countries that had taken positive steps to encourage more female involvement had overtaken us.

Calls were made for statutory maternity leave for women TDs who do not benefit from the scheme as they are not considered employees, as well as statutory paternity leave to encourage more involvement by fathers in childcare.