Plan to encourage more Offaly women into politics

Offaly  has the  lowest number of women  elected in  Local Government  in Ireland  with just one female  Councillor  out of 19.  To help  address this deficit, a  new initiative  to inspire, equip and support women in  Offaly  to get  involved in politics  is launching next week in Tullamore. 

Offaly County Council has partnered with Women for Election to launch the Supporting More Women  for Local Election  Programme.  The  programme  has been designed and delivered by Women for Election on behalf of Offaly County Council and is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.  Increasing the number of women elected is an objective of The  Programme  for Government – Our Shared Future.           

The  programme  will  launch  in Tullamore Court Hotel on Tuesday, October 18 from 7pm-9pm.  Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage,  Peter Burke and  Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,  Pippa Hackett will both speak at the event.  Following the launch  there  will be a series of training  programmes  which aim to  inspire,  equip  and  support women  to get more involved in politics and to  consider running for election or supporting another woman to run.   

The series of training events  kicks off with  an  online  Introduction to  Politics  workshop  the 19th  of October  and  in person in Tullamore on the  evening of the  26th  of October. This workshop  offers  a fantastic opportunity  for women in Offaly  to  learn more  about Irish politics including  the  local and national  political structures.  An inspiring leadership workshop entitled  Be  The  Leader  focuses on participants reflecting on the type of leader they would like to be in their community. This event  will run online  on  the evening of the 2nd  of  November  with acclaimed  entrepreneur and  broadcaster Margaret E Ward. This phase of the  initiative  will end with the  immensely popular  INSPIRE Campaign School  being  delivered in Tullamore  for the first time  on November 12th.  This Campaign School will run for a full day with a  focus on  building confidence,  increasing  communications  skills,  and  learning about  campaigning.  There is something for every woman in the  programme, which is all offered without cost.   

Caitríona Gleeson, CEO of Women for Election said:  “Currently  the representation of female  Councillors  in  Offaly  stands at just 5%. We are delighted to be working with  Offaly County Council  on this initiative. We invite members of  the community to  register and  join us on the 18th  of October to officially launch this important and timely  programme.!”

The launch on the 18th  of October is open to all members of the public  and registration is via Eventbrite. A video that forms part of the campaign will be previewed on the night, and there will be a panel  discussion with  local and national politicians.   

To learn more about this campaign and register for any of the  trainings  or the launch, please head to  https://www.womenforelection.ie/offaly/