Ireland

House of RepresentativesSenate

House of Representatives

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Parliamentary system
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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.
124
See historical data for this field.
Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
36
See historical data for this field.
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
22.5% 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. Compare data of 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
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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 > 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
Notes Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
Voting age for men 21
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1928
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
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
Restricted
Detail of restrictions Stand for Election: Restrictions detail
Women over 30
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1928
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
1918
Parliamentary bodies > Caucuses

Women

Caucus name
Irish Women’s Parliamentary Caucus
Date of creation
07.2017
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
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
Caucus contact details
Address
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2, D01 XR20
Ireland
Phone number
+353-016183507
Email
caucusdublin2018@oir.ie
Web site
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/womens-caucus/