By Aoibhe Connolly

With new legislation requiring that political parties reach a quota of 40% male and 40% female candidates, the country has seen a record number of women running in the upcoming general election.

This measure was introduced by the Oireachtas in 2023, in order to combat the longstanding underrepresentation of women in national parliament.

Since the last general election in 2020, the proportion of female candidates has increased by over 40%, with women currently making up 39% of all candidates, strengthening and broadening political representation in the Dáil.

Galway West is ahead of that national average after returning three females and two males in the last General Election, while Galway East and Roscommon/Galway both have one from three.

This time, half of candidates in the Galway West constituency are women, compared to 40% in Galway East and just 23.08% in Roscommon-Galway.

Historically, women have faced unique obstacles in political engagement, from family responsibilities and social expectations to limited political networks, further constrained by inherent biases from voters and parties. The recently implemented quotas are aimed at levelling the playing field.

One group championing this change is Women for Election, a non-partisan organisation that works with all women from across the political spectrum and that run independently.

“Our goal is to try and address the gender inequality that’s in all of our chambers across the country,” said Communications and External Relations coordinator, Katie Deegan.

“We support women through training programmes, mentoring, and we also do a bit of advocacy as well, around trying to reduce the structural barriers that prevent women from engaging fully in political life.”

To aid voters, the organisation has launched an online General Election tool at www.votemorewomen.ie, which builds on their existing data hub, and provides comprehensive information and up-to-date statistics about the candidates running in each constituency.

Catherine Connolly, the current Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Galway West TD, emphasised the need for more female TDs to provide a unique perspective on pressing issues.

“War, for example, and in particular the slaughter in Palestine – what woman or mother can watch that happen?” she asked.

“With many people talking in a vacuum about increasing the number of women, we need women with a different vision, and not to collude with a government that have led us to almost 15,000 homeless.  We need more women to speak out,” she said.

Referring to the barriers to political engagement traditionally exclusive to women, Katie Deegan referred to the Five Cs – cash, candidate selection, culture, childcare and confidence – which could potentially discourage women from running or prevent them from being elected.

“Despite all of these barriers, what Women for Election have experienced, in the local elections and in the upcoming general election, is that actually more women than ever want to put themselves forward, despite all the challenges that are there, because they know that democracy will lead to better decision making with a more representative government,” she said.

Women for Election supports the introduction of gender quotas to encourage female participation in politics.

“It does work, and it does matter, and it really helps women not feel completely on their own when they’re trying to take on a task like running for election,” said Katie.

“We saw a record-breaking number of women running in the local elections, so it’s clear to see the work of programmes like See Her Elected, and the work that the Immigrant Council of Ireland do with migrant women, all these things to engage people of minority backgrounds into Irish political life,” she added.

Reflecting on these developments, Deputy Connolly offered a different perspective on the new quotas, saying, “do we need gender balance, absolutely, but we need equality on every level in society.”

“I would hope that women would come forward to give a different vision, not women coming forward just to fill a gender quota.”

With Ireland ranking 104th globally in female parliamentary representation at only 23%, this election marks a critical moment. To date, 228 women have announced their intention to run, the highest number in Irish history thus far.

“There are talented, capable and competent women running in every constituency,” said Chair of Women for Election, Aldagh McDonogh. “We’re asking all voters, women and men, to research these women candidates and consider voting for them.”

Pictured: Hildegarde Naughton and Catherine Connolly after they were both elected for Galway West in 2016 – the first time the constituency returned two female TDs. They were joined last time out by Sinn Féin’s Mairead Farrell.