Enda Kenny must remember his pre-election commitment and appoint a gender balanced Cabinet

Published: Thursday, May 05, 2016

Last December Taoiseach Enda Kenny pledged to appoint equal numbers of women and men in cabinet if Fine Gael is returned to power.  This commitment was echoed by Michéal Martin in a letter to the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) during the General Election campaign.

In advance of the formal formation of Fine Gael led minority administration, NWCI has called on the acting Taoiseach, Enda Kenny to deliver on this pre-election pledge by appointing a gender balanced cabinet.

Louise Glennon, Women in Leadership Officer with NWCI said,
“A historic number of women have now taken their seats in the Dáil, with 35 women elected last February.  11 of those women are Fine Gael TDs, and five are Independent. The Dáil is very hierarchical, operating with a centralised decision making system, with the vast majority of decisions being made at Cabinet level.  Women must be deliberately included in decision making at all levels.”

Louise Glennon continued,
“In ‘A Parliament of All Talents; Building a Women Friendly Oireachtas’, launched in 2014, NWCI called for the introduction of a 40% gender quota at Cabinet level. For the past two years we have had 26% women at the Cabinet table, this is another historic high.   Fine Gael, supported by Fianna Fáil, must appoint a critical mass of women to participate in the decision making processes at the Cabinet table in this next government.”

Louise Glennon concluded,
“This commitment at senior level must be also reflected at a broader level across the Oireachtas by establishing a Women’s Parliamentary Caucus.  Given the current context and diversity that now exists within the Oireachtas, the Government should work to support such a caucus with aiming of promoting collaborative working on issues of importance to the women members. It is also crucial that gender balance is a key consideration in any discussion on state boards.”

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For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, NWCI, Tel. 085 858 9104, silkep@nwci.ie