Women will make politics better – and quotas are the only way

Published: Sunday, November 13, 2011

Last Wednesday, the first ever women-only meeting of TDs and Senators was the subject of controversy when Labour's Joanna Tuffy said she would not be attending.

Tuffy suggested that a female-only meeting was "stereotyping" and would lead to women in politics being pigeonholed. Here, Eoin Murray of the National Women's Council responds.

JOANNA TUFFY'S BOYCOTT of Oireachtas women provoked a flurry of media controversy. Although Tuffy generated ample news coverage for herself she did little to make progress on the substantial issue - how to get more women involved in Irish politics. Tuffy's decision was a distraction at a time when equality for women in politics should be a burning component of our political reform agenda.

Click here to read the full article by Eóin Murray, the first male employee of the National Women's Council of Ireland, Ireland's largest national representative body for women. He coordinates the campaign to get more women involved in politics.