A GROUP seeking more gender balance in politics has urged parties to act now to ensure they meet their quota obligations at the next general election.
The 5050 Group, which meets in Kerry on a monthly basis, noted that in the recent election, of a total of 2,040 candidates contesting council seats across the country, 1,599 (78.4%) were men and just 441 (21.6%) were women.
There were still more women contesting these elections in comparison to five years ago when just 314 (17.2%) of the total number of candidates were women.
New legislation specifies that in the next Dáil election at least 30 per cent of party candidates must be women or the parties involved will lose 50 per cent of State funding.
The law is not applicable at a local level but many of the political parties used the recent elections to recruit and run women candidates.
“This indicates that the gender quota legislation is already having a positive impact on female candidacy in Ireland but some parties need to do a lot more if they are to meet their obligations,” said 5050 Group chairperson Noirín Clancy.
None of the eight councillors elected in the Killarney area are women but there are five females on the new look 33-seat local authority.
They are Toireasa Ferris and Norma Foley in Tralee, Dianne Nolan and Aoife Thornton in Listowel and Norma Moriarty in Kerry South-West.
The two defeated women candidates in Killarney were independent Lynda Horgan and Fianna Fail’s Anne McEllistrim
