Ireland

House of Representatives

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
174
Women
44
Percentage of women
25.3%

Speaker

Speaker
Verona Murphy (Female)
Date of birth: 28 Oct 1971
Additional information

Elected on 18 Dec. 2024.

Secretary general

No information available

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2024-12)
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
Male 0 6 13 18 19 41 20 7 0 0 124
Female 0 0 7 6 10 15 4 1 0 0 43
Totals per age interval 0 6 20 24 29 56 24 8 0 0 167
Total <= 45: 50 Total >= 46: 117
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
3.6% 3.6% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
15.6% 11% 4.2%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
29.9% 22% 7.8%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act stipulates that political parties will have their State funding reduced by 50% if they fail to field at least 40% female candidates and 40% male candidates in the 2024 general election. This marks an increase from the previous elections, where the required quotas were set at 30% for each gender.

Sources: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012, cf. Part 6

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1918

Notes: 1918: total seats according to Wikipedia; first (revolutionary Dial)

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
1982

Women’s suffrage

Women’s right to vote
1918
Restricted or universal suffrage
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
Women over 30 who were graduates or owned property
Women’s right to vote
1922
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: 1922 Free State Constitution

Women's right to stand for election
1918
Restricted or universal
Universal

Notes: Qualification of Women Act (UK Legislation)

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No