Women candidate quotas for future Irish elections are a farce

The so called quota isn't even real since it doesn't exist IC.

Quotas are wrong. The best person for the job should get it regardless of gender or any other factor.

"More women in the Dáil can only improve it". Yes, shayblack, the Irish need more women politicians like Mary Harney. You're nuts.

Heaven forbid that women get a chance to make the legislation. They only represent half of the population, afterall. It sounds like mysogyphobia. (my word)

Has the Irish government signed on to the radical feminist "Emily's List" like here in Australia. Here to be elected to the (disastrous) Labour Party as a woman you have to be approved by the pro-abort, pro-multigender, anti man organization called Emily's List. The feminist gets funded then through them. The dreadful Prime Minister here in Australia brought that in from the U.S. It connected to Planned Parenthood the monster abortion organization. As for Mary Robinson, she was one of the early feminists to get into office in Ireland. The damage continues. As a woman I agree with good sense - let the best (wo)man do the job required. My maternal grandmother was a Cumann na mBan republican activist - the right sort. Also let us remember Ireland was a matriarchal society accepting the best leader for the time. But, what leader would want to facilitate the killing of the countries future citizens?

Their is only one criteria for TD's the best person for the job. There is also the argument that there needs to be a quota to level the playing field as women have been deliberately ignored in the past by men who saw women as inferior beings or as a threat to their power. Equality must be achieved and a quota system is a good start. Obama is the product of a system which increased black students in universities by forcing them to accept a quota system. BTW it's Julia Gillard who is prime minister of Australia.Your article is in itself "sexist" and ignores the historical facts on the treatment of women in society.

male or female TD's- they are all puppets of their masters.

What a sad wee piece. There were 566 candidates fielded in the last general election in Ireland. Only 86 were women. The average success rate for both men and women in that election was the same: 29%, which would indicate that there was no bias against female candidates among the Irish electorate. The candidate selection processes of political parties on the other hand has been identified as posing a significant obstacle to the political participation of women (due to a prevailing masculine culture, perhaps?). It's a step in the right direction to have political parties field candidates who are reflective of the electorate they will represent. Our public representatives exist to represent the people. Women make up 50% of the population but have never made up more than 14% of TDs. Fair play to FG/Lab on this (and I'm no fan of this government).

Just like Germany`s Phillip Rosler, and Angela Merkel. Gender exploitation is just another Bourgeois trick perpetuated on "Their" Working Class in order to Cheat The People out of their Fair Share of the Government !

If you want the job done right, -- have a woman do it !!

Unfortunately, this is another example of Irish Central staff writers presenting individual editorial comment as if it is actual fact. Pretty scrappy journalism. Women hold up half the sky, and yet in the Dáil only 15% of TDs are women. The Dáil is mainly a dysfunctional corrupt cabal of insiders. More women in the Dáil can only improve it, no matter how they get there.

Quotas and set asides is political correctness run amok. No wonder why Ireland is looking for yet another bail out. May the best man or woman candidate win.

REALITY CHECK: The reduction of the number of Dáil seats is ONLY a recommendation by the Constituency Commission, to be discussed and voted on. NOT decided yet. The RECOMMENDATION for 30% women candidates is ONLY that, a recommendation that might be written into legislation and might be considered in the Dáil. NOT DECIDED YET.

Parliament is what they have in the United KIingdom, Ireland has the Dáil, another confusing word for Americans!

No woman in her right mind would want to be a member of the Dail and the whole patriarchal system. The women mentioned above made it to the top by using the male side of their energy only. Women have no desire to be equal to men. Men need to become equal to womb men....for fe males are complete while males are not.