Push needed to get more women into politics, says Offaly Councillor

SINN FÉIN councillor Aoife Masterson made an impassioned plea during the March monthly meeting of Offaly County Council for everyone to make a greater push to get more women involved in local politics.
Cllr Masterson put forward a Motion which pointed out that the Council "fully recognises the importance of having women's voices heard at every level of society and the barriers still facing many women entering politics."
She called on Offaly County Council to provide a live streaming and playback facility similar to those already in operation in other councils such as Dublin County Council, Cork County Council and Roscommon County Council with the aim of "encouraging and facilitating more women to enter politics." The motion was seconded by Cllr Seán Maher.
The Councillor pointed out that women are 50% of Ireland's population and yet they are hugely under-represented in the political sphere. She said many women are very often forced into or volunteer for the caring roles in society.
"All of this leads to a disconnect between women in our communities with national and local politics; a disconnect between women and the work carried out by the County Council, work and decisions which affects the lives of women.
Many women think negatively of the Council. There is a huge amount of mistrust of politicians at the moment. In fact, the truth is that we do good work in the County Council. It is also true that everyone can only benefit by having more women in politics."
Director of Services Ann Dillon told the meeting that some years ago funding was made available by a governmental Department to encourage local women into politics. This funding paid for the running of workshops in 2022 and 2023 for women interested in standing as local and general election candidates. Some of them did subsequently stand. "I participated in those workshops," remarked Cllr Masterson. "The training was fantastic."
Cllr Fergus McDonnell said he supported the motion. "There has been a lot of discussion over the years about the approach which political parties could take in regards to this issue. I would like to add that being an Independent is also a very commendable route. I would encourage women to enter the political world as Independents. Social media has made the rough and tumble of politics worse than it used to be. The negative influence of social media on the political world is discouraging for men, as well as women."
Cllrs Claire Murray-Smale and Eleanor Clendennen both agreed with the motion. They pointed out that the number of women in the Council increased during last year's local elections.
Ann Dillon commented that some Councils are indeed broadcasting their meetings to the general public. "We are not against it," she remarked. "We will look into it."