FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 26th January 2025

Call for Gender Balance in Minister of State Appointments to mitigate Reduction of women in Cabinet

With just 3 women Ministers appointed to Government this week, Women for Election are calling on the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to appoint a gender balanced team of Ministers of State.

“The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have an immediate chance to mitigate the exclusion of women and women’s lived experience from Government decision-making by having a gender-balance in Minister of State appointments which they will make over the coming days” said Brian Sheehan, CEO of Women for Election.

“The absence of a gender balance in Government undermines the strength of governance, the quality of decision-making and diminishes the legitimacy of its policies. A Government that does not reflect its people cannot fully serve them”

“Gender equality is not a luxury or an optional goal. It is a fundamental necessity for a fair and just society, a society that values the contributions of women as equal partners in addressing the nation’s challenges and shaping its future.”

The new Government have said that they will appoint 23 Ministers of State, of whom three already appointed are women. There were six women Ministers of State in the outgoing Government, 30% of the total of twenty. Three were from Fine Gael, two from Fianna Fáil and one, a Senator, from the Green Party. That ranked Ireland 15th out of the 17 EU countries which have comparable roles.

“The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have plenty of suitably qualified women TDs with expertise across a wide range of areas from which to choose their Ministers of State. Like the last Government, they can also appoint from the Seanad, where there are very significant numbers of talented capable women running for each Party, many of whom will be elected this week”, concluded Sheehan.

Just three women have been appointed as Ministers to the 15-member Government this week, a reduction of one on the outgoing Government. The Constitution of Ireland specifies that a maximum of 15 members make up the Government. So-called ‘Super Junior’ Ministers of State attend Cabinet but do not have a vote. Ministers of State do not attend Cabinet.