Irish Democracy Unfinished
In 2009, Irish politician Liz O’Donnell asserted that ‘[Irish] democracy is unfinished’ as a result of the unequal participation of women in politics.
It is evident that women are capable and willing to occupy high positions in the Irish state - in the last thirty five years, there have been three female Presidents and one male. In 2014, the positions of Minister for Justice, Chief Justice, Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Garda Commissioner were all held by women, making the justice system entirely female led.
However, all but one of these positions does not require election, and an abysmal lack of representation of women in government persists. As of April 2023, women comprised 23.1% of representatives in the Dáil (Lower House Parliament) and 38.3% of Senators in the Senate, while a mere 25.9% of local councillors were women. Since the foundation of the Irish State in 1922, all Taoisigh (Prime Ministers) have been men. In spite of a quota mandating that parties run at least 40% women in elections to the Oireachtas (Parliament) to avoid losing half of their state funding, the unequal presence of women in the Oireachtas prevails.
The fact that women occupy and occupied many of the most prestigious and powerful roles in the country but fail to win a proportionate number of seats in elections or hold the highest executive office suggests an entrenched reluctance on the part of the electorate to choose female candidates. A referendum was held in March 2024 to remove article 41.2.1 of the Constitution, which asserts that women should not have to work ‘to the neglect of their duties in the home’ and article 41.2.2, which recognises a woman’s ‘life within the home’ as a source of support to the state necessary for the ‘common good.’ The articles were upheld by 67.7% of voters. The reasons for this result were myriad and included confusion over the wording of the proposed replacement text, yet the suggestion that a woman’s role is in the home remains in the Constitution.
Though the number of women running for public office has grown over the past number of years, change is slower to occur in elected than in appointed positions, and O’Donnell’s words remain apt in 2026. For women to step forward, a transformation in the Irish psyche is vital.
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