Call for reserved Dáil seats for Traveller women - study

A report examining the absence of Traveller women from Irish politics has warned that their continued underrepresentation in political life will perpetuate their broader exclusion from society.

'Beyond Gender Quotas: Addressing the Political Exclusion of Traveller Women in Ireland' has called for the creation of 'nested-quotas' and Special Electoral Districts or reserved seats to tackle the exclusion of Traveller women from elected office in Ireland.

A 'nested quota' would involve embedding a sub-quota for Traveller women within the current 40% gender quota for the selection of candidates for Dáil elections.

Currently, out of 1,185 current elected representatives in Ireland, just one is a Traveller woman.

The report, prepared by Maynooth University researcher, Shane Gough, with the support of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality says Ireland has an opportunity to lead internationally by adopting "intersectional, evidence-based and legally sound reforms" guaranteeing Traveller women a voice in democratic decision-making.

It says Traveller women’s exclusion from Irish politics "is neither accidental nor inevitable" and that intersectional exclusion is evident in political recruitment, candidate selection, media treatment and public discourse.

Traveller women who have stood for election report extreme levels of racist and sexist abuse, both online and offline, according to the report which operates as "a powerful deterrent to candidacy" contributing to "a regression in Traveller participation in recent election cycles".

Coordinator of the National Traveller Women’s Forum, Maria Joyce, has said that the absence of Traveller women from elected office is the result of "deeply embedded societal and institutional discrimination and party political gatekeeping".

No Traveller women stood in the 2024 local elections while one Traveller man did - a ratio of one candidate per 33,000 people as compared to one candidate per 5,266 people for all migrants.

In the 104-year history of the State, only two Traveller women have ever been nominated by political parties to contest Dáil elections.

According to Ms Joyce, existing equality measures in Ireland - including gender quotas for selection of candidates - are not reaching Traveller women and without targeted mechanisms Traveller women will continue to be excluded.

"International evidence shows that intersectionally designed measures, like nested quotas and Special Electoral Districts - which are used in New Zealand to provide dedicated representation for the Maori population - are the most effective tools for addressing this form of exclusion," she said.

Recommended measures include the establishment of a Traveller and Minorities Sub-Panel for the Seanad with a nested gender quota of at least 50% and the introduction of a nested Traveller candidate quota within the existing gender quota for candidate selection for Dáil general elections; it suggests increasing constituency magnitudes in future Dáil boundary revisions to facilitate the election of Traveller women.

In city and county council elections, it has recommended piloting two-seat gender nested Traveller Special Electoral Districts in councils with significant Traveller populations before introducing them to all councils.

It has also proposed exploring a Traveller Special Electoral District at national level for the Dáil like that which operates in New Zealand for the Maori population, once it is constitutionally possible.