FINE GAEL TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill pushed back against questioning in a radio interview this morning over whether she would insist on the next Cabinet having an equal number of men and women, saying that is “not how government works”.

She also said that women politicians should be allowed to be successful politicians rather than being made to “be responsible for everything” related to women.

Carroll MacNeill, who was the Minister of State for European Affairs in the last government, was speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland about government formation talks.

Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Regional Independents group have developed a Programme for Government, paving the way for them to form a coalition.

As well as agreeing on policies, the government formation talks involve the groups negotiating how ministerial positions in Cabinet will be shared out.

Presenter Gavin Jennings asked Carroll MacNeill whether women would be equally represented in the next Cabinet.

Carroll MacNeill said that would be a matter for the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, adding: “There’s no bigger champion for women in politics than myself and my female colleagues. But the reality is that our the numbers are very low in the Dáil.”

She said: “Unfortunately, we’re still 95th in the world, I believe, in relation to gender representation in the Dáil. That’s not my fault. I do my best to try to advance women everywhere, as does Fine Gael, but the composition of the Cabinet is a matter for the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.”

Jennings asked Carroll MacNeill whether if she was made a minister she would insist on equal representation.

MacNeill said that is “not how government works in this country” and “not how party politics works on it”.

“How would that work exactly? How?” she asked.

“Well, you could insist on equal representation,” Jennings said.

“I think that’s a bit frivolous,” MacNeill replied.

“It’s my job to do my job to represent my constituents. If I have the opportunity to work in any government, then I will work on behalf of the state in my policy areas,” she said.

“At some point, women politicians might, in fact, be allowed to be successful women politicians rather than also be responsible for everything else about women. So why don’t you make that charge to other people and allow me to continue to do my job on behalf of my constituents,” she said.

“Gender equality is so important in Ireland. The reality is that we do not have enough women in our Dáil, in my view, that it is a representative chamber, and that we should have more,” she said, adding that she hopes the next government can introduce more gender equality policies, that more women are brought into politics and that we “try to achieve a better balance for society”.

In the outgoing Dáil, women made up 23% of the total number of TDs, holding 37 seats.

246 women ran in the 2024 general election and 44 were elected, making up 25% of the next Dáil.

Programme for Government

Earlier in the interview, Carroll MacNeill said that this Programme for Government will “emphasise infrastructure spend, capital delivery, disability as a social issue, supports for small businesses and real focus on housing”.

On reducing Ireland’s emissions, she said that Ireland has the opportunity to be a leader in clean energy in Europe but that it will “take a major infrastructure spend and major investment, both from the state and from people”, and that she believes that will be a “huge focus”.

Details are starting to emerge about the policies within the programme and the formation of the next Cabinet.

The Journal understands that Fine Gael leader Simon Harris will take on an expanded foreign affairs minister role within the next government.

The next government is set to include a Healy-Rae, with Michael Healy-Rae confirming that he will be a minister of state.