Less than a quarter of MD Chair roles went to women

A new analysis by See Her Elected has found that of the 100 Municipal District (MD) and Municipal Borough District Chairperson positions filled in recent weeks, just 23 roles went to women – up just one on last year.

Municipal Districts form a sub-county tier of local government and play an important role in governance through agreeing the annual programme of proposed works to be carried out within the district.

MD Chairs oversee the decision-making on a wide range of community issues such as roads, footpaths, and public lighting, and decisions regarding road closures, litter management plans and parking bye-laws.

While most of the Council’s budgeted spending in any MD is decided at the county council level, the Cathaoirleach of the MD chairs discussions on how to allocate part of the budget (referred to as the General Municipal Allocation), meaning their influence directly shapes the everyday lives of residents.

According to the analysis by See Her Elected, 10 counties failed to select a single female MD chair namely: Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Monaghan and Westmeath.

This is the second year in a row that Donegal, Limerick, Carlow, and Westmeath do not have any female chairs of their Municipal Districts.

Just 19 women were selected as Leas Cathaoirleach/ Deputy Chair of the 100 MDs across the country.

In Cork County, women have been appointed to two of eight MD Chair roles, up one from last year.

MDs do not apply in Cork City Council.

Digital Media and CRM Co-ordinator with See Her Elected said it was disappointing to see such a small increase in the number of women holding these roles nationally.

“Congratulations to all the women who have been elected as chair of their local Municipal District, we wish them the very best as they navigate the year ahead.

“This is my second year recording and analysing the appointments of not only the Cathaoirleach of each county, but the chairs of each of the Municipal Districts. It was disappointing once again to see an increase of just one woman, in the number of women taking up MD Chairperson roles this year, especially when there are more than 250 women elected to our councils, who are more than capable of the job.

“When I analysed the figures deeper, it showed that once again the larger parties held most of the positions. Fianna Fail took 39 Municipal District chair seats in total. Just 9 went to women, while 30 went to men. Fine Gael councillors took 23 chairperson, 5 went to women, 18 to men.”

Elaine added: “We want to see the parties take action to ensure women’s equal participation in all levels of decision-making.”

See Her Elected is a programme under Longford Women’s Link supporting women in rural Ireland to become candidates in local elections. The programme aims to increase female representation in local government and ensure women from diverse backgrounds have a voice in political decision-making. It is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.