Ireland’s new parliament has the lowest proportion of female parliamentarians in Western Europe, an analysis has revealed, suggesting that a country that elected its first female president more than three decades ago has trailed behind when it comes to the inclusion of women in politics.
An analysis of Inter-Parliamentary Union data by Bloomberg described the Irish parliament as the “worst for gender diversity in western Europe.”
Out of the 174 seats up for grabs in last month’s election, 44 went to women, amounting to a representation of slightly more than 25 percent — a stark contrast to the Western European average of 37 percent when it comes to female parliamentarians.
Photo: AP
Across Europe as a whole, female parliamentarians make up an average of 32 percent of parliaments.
Ireland adopted gender quotas in 2012, with the requirement boosted to 40 percent in the most recent election. The result was 246 female candidates — the highest number registered to run in an Irish general election.
Of these candidates, 44 were elected to the Dail Eireann, or lower house of the Irish parliament. While campaigners noted that this figure marked a slight increase from the previous election, they were swift to add that it was also indicative of the work that remained to be done.
“It’s progress, but it’s slow progress,” said Women for Election, which promotes women’s participation in Irish politics.
The National Women’s Council of Ireland said the results meant there was still “no breakthrough for women” in Irish politics.
“The results show that, in isolation, the gender quota will not be enough to achieve equal representation for women,” said Orla O’Connor, the council’s director. “There is evidence that many women were added late to the ticket to make up the gender quota.
“We are calling on all political parties to ensure women candidates are selected as early as possible to ensure they have sufficient time, support and resources for their election campaign,” she added.
SUPPORT: Elon Musk’s backing for the far-right AfD is also an implicit rebuke of center-right Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz, who is leading polls German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a swipe at Elon Musk over his political judgement, escalating a spat between the German government and the world’s richest person. Scholz, speaking to reporters in Berlin on Friday, was asked about a post Musk made on his X platform earlier the same day asserting that only the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party “can save Germany.” “We have freedom of speech, and that also applies to multi-billionaires,” Scholz said alongside Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal. “But freedom of speech also means that you can say things that are not right and do not contain
Pulled from the mud as an infant after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and reunited with his parents following an emotional court battle, the boy once known as “Baby 81” is now a 20-year-old dreaming of higher education. Jayarasa Abilash’s story symbolized that of the families torn apart by one of the worst natural calamities in modern history, but it also offered hope. More than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka were killed, with others missing. The two-month-old was washed away by the tsunami in eastern Sri Lanka and found some distance from home by rescuers. At the hospital, he was
Two US Navy pilots were shot down yesterday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of US targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one sustaining minor injuries. However, the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area. The US military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the
MILITANTS TARGETED: The US said its forces had killed an IS leader in Deir Ezzor, as it increased its activities in the region following al-Assad’s overthrow Washington is scrapping a long-standing reward for the arrest of Syria’s new leader, a senior US diplomat said on Friday following “positive messages” from a first meeting that included a promise to fight terrorism. Barbara Leaf, Washington’s top diplomat for the Middle East, made the comments after her meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus — the first formal mission to Syria’s capital by US diplomats since the early days of Syria’s civil war. The lightning offensive that toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 was led by the Muslim Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in al-Qaeda’s
RSS