Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has congratulated the Women for Election project after they were awarded funding from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) this week. The funding will support the growth of the Women for Election, a project which aims to ensure that 40% of public representatives in Ireland are female by the year 2021.
Deputy Martin commented, “This is an issue that I feel particularly strongly about. We do not have an acceptable level of gender equality in political life in this country and that is why I have set targets within Fianna Fáil for increasing our female representation at both local and national level. The Women for Election project aims to address the deficit on an overall non-partisan basis. It sets a goal of dramatically increasing the number of women involved in public life over the next decade.
“I am delighted that this project has received national recognition and now has the support of Social Entrepreneurship Ireland. It is the only non-political organisation working to achieve a greater balance of men and women in political life. Great credit is due to its founders Niamh Gallagher and Michelle O’Donnell Keating. I wish them every success with the Women for Election project in the coming years.”
