Radical measures required to ensure gender balance in politics, according to women's organisations

The percentage of women holding seats on councils across the country has seen only minimal change since the 2019 elections at around 26%.

"At this glacial pace of change, Ireland will be waiting for two or three decades to have even 40% women at local government level," said Brian Sheehan, CEO of Women for Election.

While the number of women elected is still low, a number elected across the country put in impressive performances.

Female candidates elected on the first count included Fianna Fáil's Sheila O'Callaghan and Gobnait Moynihan both in Cork; Aontú representative Sarah O'Reilly in Cavan; and Michelle Hall of Labour in Louth.

In the Lucan area of Dublin, four of the five seats went to women with Fine Gael's Caroline Brady and Vicki Casserly getting across the line, along with Independent Liona O'Toole and Joanna Tuffy of the Labour party.

Women for Election and the National Women's Council have both called for candidate quotas and other measures given the disappointing outcomes for women in the local elections, which puts Ireland in 22nd place out of the EU 27 for the number of women in local politics.

“The stagnation in the number of women in local government, despite a record number of women candidates, clearly demonstrates that radical new measures are needed to ensure a properly representative democracy” said Mr Sheehan.

The percentage of women candidates in the main parties in the local elections ranged from 25% to 51%.

“Women for Election are calling on the Government to implement a candidate quota for the next Local Government elections at 40%, the same as for the next general election.

"In the meantime, political parties can take comprehensive steps towards redressing the gender imbalance, including women-only shortlists for co-options and developing internal party rules that mandate 50:50 in all internal positions and in candidate selection conventions," said Mr Sheehan.

The National Women’s Council (NWC) also said the elections were a "missed opportunity" to break the critical barrier of 40% for women’s representation in Local Government.

Rachel Coyle, NWC head of campaigns and mobilisation, said local elections are a "critical pipeline" for getting women elected at national level.

"We know that when women are on the ticket, people vote for women. It is very clear that the incentive approach from the Government is not working, as large parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, failed to run at least 40% women as candidates. Neither managed to even reach 30% which is incredibly disappointing. As was the case with the general elections, a gender quota for Local Elections is a necessity if we are serious about achieving gender equality in political life for women," she said.

In addition to the 40% gender quota for local elections, NWC is calling for decisive action towards a more women and family friendly local government.

This includes investment in local public services, including childcare and public transport, the establishment of local women’s caucuses, greater work life balance policies for councillors, and the promotion of feminist community development.