Women ready and willing to bring an end to Gentlemen’s Club politics, says National Women’s Council

Published: Wednesday, November 04, 2009

NATIONAL WOMEN'S COUNCIL OF IRELAND

PRESS STATEMENT

For immediate release

Thursday 05.11.09

Women ready and willing to bring an end to Gentlemen's Club politics, says National Women's Council of Ireland.

"Women are ready, willing and able to enter and change the Gentlemen's Club that is Dail Eireann," said the director of the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI), welcoming the launch of a Report on 'Women in Politics'by the all party Sub Committee of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights.

She said the National Women's Council would be happy to establish and maintain a national data bank of potential women candidates, as suggested in the report. "There are brilliant women in this country, including many in our member organisations, who would bring much needed energy, commitment and imagination to the political table," she said. "As things are, they are not given the opportunity."

The report identifies the five C's - five key reasons for the exclusion of women from Irish politics. These are Childcare, Cash, Confidence, Culture and Candidate Selection. It calls for the introduction of legislative quotas which would oblige political parties to put forward women as candidates. At present, just 13% of Dail deputies are women.

"We have been saying that at the present rate of change, it will take 370 years for women to reach equal representation in the Dail," said Ms Mckay. "This excellent and timely report depressingly reveals that women's representation is actually falling. This must not be allowed to happen. For the sake of women and for the sake of our country, we have to get more women into power. The political parties need to act on this report as a matter of urgency."[ENDS]

Further information & comment:

Susan McKay, Director, NWC1, - 087 7582222