Tipperary below average for number of women elected

Despite an increase in female Councillors nationally the number of women elected in County Tipperary remains unchanged.

21 of the 79 candidates contesting the 40 seats in Tipperary in last months local elections were female.

8 of them were elected – Máirín McGrath and Annemarie Ryan are first time Councillors however Catherine Carey and Louise McLoughlin lost their seats, meaning the overall numbers remain the same.

Across the country the number of women elected increased by 2% to 23%.

With 20% Tipperary falls short of the 30% the National Women’s Council of Ireland were hoping for.

The two largest parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have come under fire for not fielding 50/50 candidates unlike the smaller parties.

Director of the National Women’s Council Orla O’Connor says parties should be sanctioned for not running enough women.