Electoral (Gender Parity) Bill 2009

Public bill · Private Member · Introduced

The Electoral (Gender Parity) Bill 2009 would link political parties’ state funding for parliamentary work to their progress in selecting women and men as election candidates. Parties would lose half that funding unless at least one-fifth of their candidates—or one-fifth of their newly elected Dáil members—were women and at least one-fifth were men. After seven years, the target would rise to one-third, with the possibility of increasing it to two-fifths after 14 years. The measure would apply after the next general election and expire after 21 years, using financial pressure to encourage more balanced representation in politics.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to provide for a requirement on the part of qualified political parties, in order to receive full payment under part III of the Electoral Act 1997, to work towards achieving gender parity in relation to the candidates put forward for election by that party; and to provide for related matters

Last updated 12 April 2018