This article is from page 12 of the 2014-04-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
GENDER balance is unlikely in the new look Clare County Council from next May, as just seven of the 60 candidates declared to date are female.
This week the local authority’s only female representative, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), announced her retirement from elected politics, which means there are no sitting female county councillors contesting the election on May 23.
Fine Gael has nominated just two women – two of its sitting female town councillors – Cllr Mary Howard, Ennis, and Cllr Marian McMahon Jones, Kilrush, to contest the council elections.
These are the only two women among the party’s 16 candidates in Clare.
Fianna Fáil’s gender balance does not compare favourably either.
Again, just two of its 18 candidates are female: Louise Roche McNamara, contesting the Shannon area, and Clare Colleran Molloy from Ennis the Municipal Area.
And while the two larger political parties in the county have just four women candidates between them, Labour and Sinn Fein have as yet included no women among their candidates.
The party’s are expected to announce candidates for the West Clare area in the coming days.
The remaining three women who have put their name’s forward to date are all Independent candidates, and contesting the Ennis area.
These include former Labour member Paula McNamara, school teacher Seonaidh NíShiomoin and Ann Norton from the Clare Crusaders.
Those voting in the Killaloe Municipal Area will not see any women on their ballot papers come polling day, unless some one declares in the next few weeks.
Asked why she believes there are so few women involved in local politics in Clare, Cllr McCarthy said, “What I have found is that women always want to get things done and solve problems. We are not as patient at just talking about it and putting it off on the long finger. You want to get something done, to feel you are achieving something. Now maybe men feel the same but it doesn’t come across, but I think women they just don’t see it as something they want to get involved in.”
Candidates have until April 24 to declare as a candidate.