I vote in terms of quality, not gender

I read that political parties are now desperately looking for women to ‘throw’ into the electoral mix so as to satisfy a 30% female representational requirement.

I am anti gender quotas, no matter which of the two genders the bias works in favour of. Women candidates, like all candidates, should be judged on their record and character, rather than their gender. I personally have never considered gender when choosing who to vote for.

The trouble now, I feel, with this gender quota, is that when a quality woman candidate (and there are many) is chosen, she might not get the respect she deserves, as some might believe she got the gig because of her gender. Where is all of this madness going to end? I see in Canada, one party, the NDP, has a rule that only a woman can take a seat originally held by a woman.

Interestingly, of the 487 men who stood for election in Ireland in 2011, 141 got elected, which is 28.9%. Of the 85 women who stood, 25 were elected, which is 29.41%.

Should there be more women representation in Irish politics? Of course there should, it’s just that quotas aren’t the way to do it.

One only has to think of the very many fine women politicians, both in the current Oireachtas, and previously, whose achievements are a credit to them, and who can claim them on merit, not gender.

I think Phil Hogan’s bill, while well intentioned no doubt, is an insult to both genders, but especially to women.

Noel D Walsh

Glasnevin

Dublin 11.