THREE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS by female TDs that they won’t be contesting their seats at the next general election has drawn attention to the low level of female political representation in Ireland.

But how does Ireland compare with other EU countries?

In the European Parliament, 35% of MEPs elected in 2009 are women. Thirty-one per cent of the previous parliament comprised of women.

Although almost a quarter of Member States are represented by more than 40% women MEPs, just 25% of Ireland’s MEPs are women. That’s an improvement on the previous parliament, in which 15% of Ireland’s MEPs were women.

Dáil representation vs other EU parliaments

In Ireland, 13.3% of the Dáil is comprised of woman representatives. This compares with 47% for Sweden, 41.5% for Finland, 41.3% for the Netherlands, and 19.5% for the UK.

Countries with a similar percentage to Ireland include: Hungary (11.1%), Romania (11.4%), Cyprus (14.3%), Greece (14.7%), Slovenia (13.3%) and the Czech Republic (15.5%). Malta’s female representation at parliamentary level is just 8.7%.

Switzerland, not an EU member, has given the majority of cabinet positions to female candidates for the first time in its history, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

(Data compiled by European Women’s Lobby in conjuction with the European Parliament, and the European Parliament)