More women are standing for election in Galway city and county than anywhere else in Connacht-Ulster, and most other counties in the State. However parties in the Ballinasloe ward have been criticised for running no female candidates.
Galway is ahead of the national average when it comes to female candidates according to Women For Election, a non-partisan organisation aimed at encouraging women to become more politically active.
Women make up 27.8 per cent of candidates in Galway city, where there are 10 women out of a total of 36 candidates; while the figure is 23.7 per cent for the county, with 14 out of 45 candidates.
The figures see Galway running the highest number of female candidates in Connacht-Ulster, ahead of Monaghan (26 per cent ); Cavan (23 per cent ); Sligo (22 per cent ); Leitrim (20 per cent female candidates ); Roscommon (18 per cent ); Mayo and Donegal (16 per cent ).
Galway also compares favourably to the national average of just 22 per cent. However WFE pointed out that bar Meath and a couple of Dublin wards, nowhere in the State reached the 30 per cent female candidate quota which will come into effect at the next general election.
Of the eight wards in the city and county, Galway City East, with five female candidates (42 per cent ), and Tuam, with four (36 per cent ) have the highest proportion of women on the ticket.
However, WFE described Ballinasloe as “one of the country’s black spots in terms of female representation” with no women on the ticket. Galway also adhered to a national trend for a greater proportion of women candidates in urban, rather than rural, constituencies.
