Robinson In New York For UN Report Launch

Former Irish President Mary Robinson was in New York last week to help launch a UN report on women's participation in politics.

The study was co-authored by Ireland, Northern Ireland, Liberia and Timor Leste (East Timor).

The launch took place at the offices of Ireland's Mission to the United Nations on Second Avenue, where the report was handed over to UN head of women, Michele Bachelet, tipped by some to be a candidate for Secretary General in future.

Among the recommendations made were more family-friendly working arrangements for politicians, the engagement of men in support of women candidates and political structures like a women's caucus in parliament once elected.

One of its key findings was that gender quotas in politics do work, and should not be dismissed as token gestures.

It cautions against viewing them negatively and said they should instead be a key strategy in helping women to enter formal politics.

Mrs Robinson said she believed it was "appropriate" for the issue to be re-examined in Ireland.

"The countries around the world that have been willing to have quotas have made much more rapid progress," the former president told the Irish Examiner USA, "It is up to every country, and some, Ireland among them, feel we don't need quotas.

"But maybe they should think: how is it that we still have a very small percentage of women? How can we ensure that we get closer to the 50/50? Do we even have the ambition to get close to the 50/50?"

Equality Minister Mary White of the Green Party, who represented the Irish government at the event, said quotas would be considered as part of a wider package of reforms aimed at increasing female participation in politics in Ireland.

"I have said all along that quotas on their own won't work - we need a strong supportive package," she said.

She said she is working on a proposal, some of which could be implemented as part of electoral and Dail reform.

These include a change to working hours in Dail Eireann to make them more family friendly, and more women nominees to State boards.

One potentially controversial proposal under consideration is the linking of the State funding of political parties to their gender representations.

"I'll be looking at the issue of party funding if parties didn't actually run (women) candidates," said Minster White, "and maybe having a sliding scale.

"So if you had 20% (female candidates) you lose a certain percentage of your state funding, 25% you'd lose less, and the more you go up in terms of having women on the ballot paper, the more money the party would have."

Ireland is currently ranked 84th in the world for female representation in politics - just 23 TDS are women (14%) which puts it behind Sierra Leone.

Several high-profile female TDs, including Olwyn Enright (FG), Liz McManus and Mary Upton (Lab), indicated during the summer that they don't intend to contest the next election.

"There is no question about it," said Minister White, "Our parliament is not balanced."

The event at Ireland's UN mission was also attended by Ministers from Liberia, Timor Leste and several senior international and UN diplomats.

It took place just two days after the Irish public voted Mary Robinson the third greatest Irish person in history, in RTE's "Ireland's Greatest" series, behind John Hume and Michael Collins.

"I'm very happy that John Hume got the recognition he so richly deserves," she told me, "For him, for his wife Pat and the family. It's a very good way for the Irish people to recognise the huge contribution he has made."

Mrs Robinson, who was Ireland's first ever female President, said she had not had yet the opportunity to watch any of the five documentaries in the series - including the one in which economist David McWilliams championed her case.

"My family certainly felt it was a good documentary," she said, "And I heard that people in the west of Ireland, at least, also agreed. But I will catch up on it soon."