The introduction of a 40% gender quota for political parties running candidates for election is a “really significant day for gender equality”, according to the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

From today, 40% of the candidates put forward for election to the Dáil must be female and 40% must be male.

Up to now the quota was set at 30%.

Parties that fail to reach the quota lose 50% of their State funding.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, National Women’s Council of Ireland (WCI) Director Orla O’Connor said it is a significant step forward.

“This is a really significant day for gender equality to have now a 40% quota,” she said.

“It is still so important because women are still at such a low level of representation.

“Only 22.5% of our TDs are women and this is something women’s organisations and women have been campaigning for, for a long time – to have equal representation in all of our elected politics."

Election

She said making the change now should ensure parties have enough time to prepare for the next general election.

“We are probably two years out from a general election so having the quota in now leaves parties with sufficient time to ensure that women are put forward in winnable seats and also to put the resources and the supports there to ensure that that happens,” she said.

“We know that for some of the parties, reaching the 30% was a challenge in the last election but they have the time now to do it and to do it properly.”

Quotas

Ms O’Connor said quotas have already been shown to work – and noted that members of the public still have their choice on who to vote for when they get to the ballot box.

Ireland fell behind China and Iraq in terms of women’s representation during the 2020 General Election and Ms O’Connor said two constituencies only had one woman on the ballot paper.

“It isn’t good enough,” she said. “Women make up over 50% of the population and it is really important that, in terms of the most crucial decisions that are made that affect our lives, that we have that equal representation,” she said.

Asked whether WCI encourages people to vote for female candidates, Ms O’Connor said it is “important to vote for people who you believe will bring forward women’s equality”.

“We need much, much more women and men in there, driving forward a women’s rights and women’s equality agenda,” she said.

You can listen back here: