Madam, – The report on gender quotas (Front page, August 4th) reflects the levels of gender bias and sexism in society in general and your paper in particular.
To discover the level of support for gender quotas for TDs, only female TDs were asked their opinion.
Are the opinions of our male representatives not important in relation to issues that affect females? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Can I highlight for our small number of female TDs how our Nordic friends have successfully used quotas to bring gender balance to their political systems and thus to decision-making?
By any international indicator, they are now the best performing countries in the world. They have better education, better healthcare, better childcare, lower crime and more successful economies.
As a proud Irishman, I do not wish to see our system so dominated by men. This system has proven itself unable to change. For all our sakes, I hope our female TDs can look again at this issue. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Your article on Dáil quotas for women raises a question for those female politicians opposed to quotas.
We have tried the last 80 years without quotas, and progress has been glacially slow. Opponents keep saying that other issues need to be addressed, but when will they address them? What are they waiting for? There is an argument that politics will only become female-friendly when each sex reaches a minimum critical mass of Dáil members, say 45 per cent, and so can change it from the inside.
So why not bring in a quota system for two Dáil terms, and then abolish it?
Where is the harm in trying temporary quotas? Are FF, FG and Labour honestly saying that they can’t find 45 impressive women in their entire respective parties? Really?
As it happens, we do use quotas in Irish elections, on a geographical basis, where a county is entitled to a certain number of seats on the ballot paper.
Mayo or Longford demand, rightly, their fair share of Dáil seats. Why not women? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The report on gender quotas in Dáil Éireann asked women TDs if they thought political parties should adopt quotas in candidate selection procedures to correct the current imbalance.
But rather than proceed with changes which some would regard as reverse discrimination, surely more energy ought to be urgently expended ensuring that all Oireachtas members make a solemn pledge to adhere to old-fashioned values like honesty and integrity.
Those that are found to have crossed the line or are unable to provide clear evidence to the contrary, should face an indefinite suspension from the Dáil or Seanad.– Yours, etc,