Ireland

House of RepresentativesSenate

House of Representatives

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Parliamentary system
Compare data of this field.
Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Data on women

empty

Basic information > About parliament

Speaker

Speaker
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Male)
Year of birth
1960
Additional information
Elected on 10 March 2016, re-elected on 20 Feb. 2020.
See historical data for this field.

Secretary general

Secretary General
Peter Finnegan (Male)
Notes Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 13 Jan. 2016.

Members

Current number of members, by sex
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
123
See historical data for this field.
Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
37
See historical data for this field.
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
23.13% See historical data for this field.

Age

Average age of all members Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
48.50
See historical data for this field.
Youngest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
23
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Youngest member
James O'Connor (Male)
Oldest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
75
Oldest member
Bernard Durkan (Male)
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
66 See historical data for this field.
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
94 See historical data for this field.
Total per sex
Total of male
124 See historical data for this field.
Total of female
36 See historical data for this field.
Total per age interval
18-20
0
21-30
6 See historical data for this field.
31-40
24 See historical data for this field.
41-45
36 See historical data for this field.
46-50
29 See historical data for this field.
51-60
41 See historical data for this field.
61-70
22 See historical data for this field.
71-80
2
81-90
0
91 and over
0
Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Totals per age interval 0 6 24 36 29 41 22 2 0 0
Total <= 45: 66 Total >= 46: 94
Male 0 3 18 30 20 33 18 2 0 0 124
Female 0 3 6 6 9 8 4 0 0 0 36
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger3.75%1.88%1.88%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger18.75%13.13%5.63%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger41.25%31.88%9.38%

Reserved seats and quotas

Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
Compare data of this field.
Notes
Legislated candidate quotas. Part 6 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act of 2012 provides that political parties will face a cut of half their State funding received under the Electoral Act 1997 if they do not have at least 30% women and 30% men candidates at the next general election (2016). Seven years from the general election where this provision first applies, the Act makes provision for this figure to rise to 40% in respect of each gender, commencing at the general election held next after that.
Elections > Election results

Candidates

Total number of candidates Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".
531
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
162
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
30.51%
Number of candidates, by sex
Number of female candidates Number of female candidates
162
Percentage of women candidates The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women candidates by the total number of candidates.
30.51%

Results

Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
124
Number of women elected
36
Percentage of women elected The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
22.5%
Number of women after election or renewal, by mode of designation
Women Directly Elected
36

New legislature

Total number of men after the election The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
124
Total number of women after the election The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
36
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Male)
Political party
Fianna Fáil
Date of election
20.02.2020
Elections > Historical data on women

Women's suffrage

Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1918
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Suffrage: Restrictions detail
Women over 30 who were graduates or owned property
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
Voting age for men 21 with no restriction.
Representation of the People Act (UK legislation)
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1922
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
1922 Free State Constitution
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1918
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes Stand for Election: Additional Notes on right to stand for election
Qualification of Women Act (UK Legislation)
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
1918
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
1982

Specialized body - Women's caucus

Irish Women’s Parliamentary Caucus
(July 2017)
The caucus is open to male MPs
Yes
The caucus is cross-party
Yes
Notes
Every current and previous woman member of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann will be a member of the Women’s Caucus unless she opts out.
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
Yes
Link to rules
https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/communications/other/2018/2018-07-12_constitution-of-the-irish-women-s-parliamentary-caucus_en.pdf

Activities

Issues dealt with by the caucus
The mission of the Women’s Caucus is to work purposefully, promoting and supporting women’s participation in politics, nationally and locally; to develop and advocate for legislation, policy and other initiatives that address issues affecting women and society. To advance the agreed agenda of the Caucus within political parties and other spheres of influence
The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
No
The caucus has a communication plan
No

Contact information for the Committee

Address
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2, D01 XR20
Ireland
Phone
+353-016183507
E-mail
[email protected]
Web site
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/womens-caucus/