First council in history of the state with majority female membership
SOUTH Dublin County Council was confirmed as the first council in the history of the State with majority female membership following co-options on December 19.
Of the 40 councillors in South Dublin County Council, 21 are female, representing 52.5% of the council.
Three seats were vacant in SDCC after Ciaran Ahern (Lab), Shane Moynihan (FF) and Paul Gogarty (Ind), were elected to the 34th Dáil.
At the December 19 meeting, Cllr Paddy Cosgrave (Lab), Cllr Jacqueline Sheehy (FF) and Cllr Helen Farrell (Ind) were co-opted for the respective seats.
The Local Elections in June saw 19 of the 40 local Council seats in South Dublin going to female candidates, which was the then highest proportion of women on any council in the country according to SDCC.
Speaking at the special meeting, Cllr Alan Hayes, Deputy Mayor of South Dublin said it was “a significant day, one which shows the women of South Dublin that their voice is heard louder than ever in this chamber.”
I would also like to commend the current and former female Councillors who have paved the way for this historic moment, particularly former Councillor Breda Cass, who had the honour of being the first woman in South Dublin elected as Mayor in 1995,” said Hayes.
Colm Ward, Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council, said: “Congratulations to all three newly co-opted councillors.
“Today is a notable milestone for us as a council and for local government In Ireland – to have majority female membership on the council reflects how progressive and diverse our county is and builds on the work of our Women’s Caucus which supports continued and new female participation in local politics.
“Our Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty Framework commitments will see us continue to support greater opportunity for all to engage in local democracy, particularly those from minority communities or who feel marginalised, to ensure that our council is representative of everyone in South Dublin.”
