From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
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Alan Dillon T.D., Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, has today announced the Increasing the Participation of Women and Diversity in Local Government Call for Funding to Local Authorities. The scheme, now in its sixth year, has been extensively revised to assist local authorities in further focusing their efforts in this area.
Announcing the scheme, Minister Dillon said:
“Council chambers all around the country are places where the voices of our communities can both be heard and help to shape the places in which we live - it is crucially important, therefore, that our council chambers are fully reflective of the diversity that makes up our communities. While continuing to support the female and migrant councillors recently elected, it is important to continue the momentum of past efforts and look towards the next local elections in 2029.”
Under the newly revised scheme, local authorities are asked to respond to the call for funding under four “pillars”, representing key areas of work, such as “Family Friendly Local Authorities” and “Diversity in Local Government to include migrant and minority groups”.
Minister Dillon said:
“The local elections last month were encouraging: we saw a record 681 female candidates standing for election, representing 31% of candidates overall. We were also delighted that the number of migrant candidates contesting the election almost doubled that of 2019, representing a positive step forward in terms of the diversity of our council chambers. However, our ambition is to continue to increase the number of women running for election at all levels of our democracy.”
The funded scheme being announced today is an integral part of a broader programme of Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage initiatives aimed at encouraging gender balance and diversity at local government level. The Department also runs funding schemes targeting political parties, and provides support to key stakeholder groups who work with women and diverse groups. The Department will also launch a further scheme later this year aimed at facilitating hybrid council meetings, as a caring/family friendly measure.
Concluding, the Minister said:
“It is my hope, with the launch of this scheme, we can continue the great work being done in local authorities over the last number of years, and I look forward to achieving the shared goal of balanced representation in our council chambers for all.”
ENDS