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Women seek to Balance the Ballot

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UNTIL almost 12noon on Wednesday, the Clare electorate had 12 male candidates to choose from when deciding who to vote for on February 25.

Sarah Ferrigan, Ann Cronin and Madeline McAleer after the validation of their nominations as That statistic changed dramatically, however, when three women, Sarah Ferrigan, Ann Cronin and Madeline McAleer, registered as candidates at Ennis Courthouse. Patrick Brassil also registered his intention to stand, meaning that Clare will have a total of 16 General Election candidates.
While the three women are independent candidates, they are operating under a ‘Balance the Ballot’ umbrella.
“This is a move towards how a ballot paper should look in an open, fair and functioning democracy. Without us, there would not have been a woman on the ballot paper in County Clare.
“We could not allow that to happen in 21st century Ireland,” Ms McAleer commented. She lives in Ennis, has a background in the community sector and runs an online business, ClareFocus.ie.
“Decisions that affect all of society should be made by a government reflective of that society,” Ms Ferrigan, who is from Ennis and works in the community with a background in accounting, commented.
Ms Cronin, who is also from Ennis, works with local groups and has a background in psychology and lecturing. “Our desire for change reflects the public mood to move to a more inclusive form of politics. We are delighted to be able to balance the ballot and give the people of Clare choice,” she stated.
The trio said they are not affiliated to any party, organisation or ideology. In a statement, they said they represent a cross-section of the community but felt unrepresented by the ballot paper.
They quoted a report by Sandra McAvoy, historian and lecturer in Women’s Studies in UCC, which states that Ireland has slipped to 82nd place in a world classification league of women’s representation in parliament.
In Ireland, women account for only 17% of members of local authorities but in Clare that figure is even less. There are 32 county councillors in Clare and only one of them is a woman.
There are currently no female TDs representing the county.

 

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