Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager at see Her Elected, Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council Cllr Roger Kennedy,Cathaoirleach of Thurles Templemore MD Cllr Peggy Ryan, Cllr Siobhan Ambrose Cllr Marie Murphy, Cllr Máirín McGrath, Cllr Fiona Bonfield,Cllr Annemarie Ryan, Sinéad Doody of Doody Consulting and Facilitation.
Going from community involvement to local politics, the day-to-day reality of being a public representative, and the importance of women putting themselves forward for election were topics discussed at a seminar aimed at highlighting a pathway for women into Local Government in Tipperary this week.
The ‘Tipperary Women and Local Politics’ seminar took place in the Source Arts Centre in Thurles with women from all over the county enjoying panel discussions with local politicians as well as hearing from guest speaker Kathleen O’ Meara (former Senator and Nenagh Councillor). The event was hosted by the Tipperary Women’s Caucus and Tipperary County Council in association with See Her Elected.
Councillors Siobhan Ambrose, Fiona Bonfield, Máirín McGrath, Marie Murphy, Anne Marie Ryan and Caucus Chairperson Cllr Peggy Ryan all took part as panellists on the day. The Tipperary Women’s Caucus is a forum for all female elected representatives in the county regardless of any party affiliation.
This event brought the voices of Tipperary women in politics and the community together to understand what the role of a Councillor entails and about pathways into Tipperary County Council for women.
The next elections to select 40 councillors for County Tipperary will be held in May 2024. Those interested in standing for election were advised to begin preparing their campaigns now and to seek the advice, training and support provided by State Funded Organisations such as See Her Elected or Women for Election.
Nine of the forty council positions in County Tipperary are presently filled by women giving Tipperary a female participation rate of 23% . The national average female participation rate of women in Councils is 26% – this despite women making up over slightly more than 50% of the population. Neighbouring counties such as Waterford reports 6 female councillors out of 32 (19%), Kilkenny has 4 out of 24 (17%) and Offaly County Council only has one woman out of 19 councillors (5%).
State funding to political parties at National level is now tied to there being at least 40% female candidates put forward by the party for General Elections to elect TDs. Several of the speakers at the Seminar yesterday were in favour of some form of quota being introduced for local elections to ensure a greater representation of women and people from a diverse range of backgrounds are elected as councillors. This would include people with disabilities, those from the LGBTQ community and non-nationals now living in Ireland.
Dr. Michelle Maher, Programme Manager with See Her Elected, the Government funded project which supports women in rural constituencies to become County Councillors described the free resources offered to any woman interested in running in the local elections or helping a woman get (re)elected.
Sinead Doody of Doody Facilitating and Consulting was an excellent MC for the event and facilitated a Question and Answer Session afterwards – students from local schools in Thurles and Newport attended the event.
