Bacik announces Photocall for Women Senators and TDs in Seanad Chamber
23 January 2014
Senator Ivana Bacik today (23rd Jan) announced that she has been given permission by the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges to invite all women TDs and Senators to attend the Seanad chamber at 1.30pm on Tuesday 28th January 2014, to mark the 95th anniversary of the 1918 General Election (14th December 1918), the election in which women first had the right to vote, and in which Constance Markievicz was elected as the first woman TD and MP.
Senator Bacik said today:
- “I am delighted that this commemorative event will be taking place on 28th January. It will consist of the reading of a speech about women’s right to vote, given by Constance Markievicz in the lead-up to the 1918 election. An official photograph will be taken of the event.
“In December 2008 I organised a similar event, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1918 election. That event consisted of a ceremony that took place in the Dáil Chamber on 9th December 2008. All living former and current women TDs and Senators were invited to attend the Chamber on that date for the reading of the speech by Constance Markievicz and the taking of a photograph of all those women present. I recently obtained permission for that photograph to be displayed on the walls of Leinster House, and it is now displayed on the corridor opposite the Captain’s office.
“This year, it is important that we mark this historic anniversary again, both by celebrating and honouring the many women who have been elected to the Dáil and Seanad since 1918, but also by noting how small the numbers of women are as a proportion of our elected representatives overall. More must be done to encourage women to enter political life - and events like this may help to raise awareness about the need for more women to enter political life.
“There are currently 26 women TDs out of 166 (26%); and 19 women Senators out of 60 (32%). If all 45 of us are present in the Seanad chamber next Tuesday, the 60-seat chamber will then have a majority of women representatives present for the first time ever.”
Background Information:
In November 2009, Senator Bacik launched the Report of the Sub-Committee on Women’s Participation in Politics established by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights.
This Report received cross-Party support from all those on the Justice Committee. There is a link to the Report on the Oireachtas website: http://www.
A key recommendation in the Report was the need for legislation to require political parties to select a minimum proportion of women candidates to put before the electorate at local, national and European elections.
That recommendation was subsequently legislated for in the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012, which requires political parties to select at least 30% women and 30% men as candidates in that election. Parties which do not meet these targets will see their State funding cut by half.
ENDS