Law students give backing to election candidate quotas

Law students overwhelmingly backed gender quotas for women candidates in the Irish election at a Women in Politics debate instigated by the Eversheds Women’s Leadership Initiative.

The debate, held by international law firm Eversheds in conjunction with the UCD Sutherland School of Law, heard from Mary O’Connor TD, Niamh Gallagher from Women for Election, and Fiona Mahon, head of company secretarial in Eversheds.

The debate was chaired by Dearbhail McDonald, associate and legal editor of the Irish Independent.

Ms McDonald advocated for quotas in order to improve gender balance and said men must not be forgotten, as their support for better gender balance in politics and business is also needed.

A survey conducted by Eversheds at the end of the event found that 60 per cent of students attending the debate support quotas for women candidates.

97 per cent of students present said they want to see more women elected to the Dáil and Seanad.

On the coming election, 84 per cent of respondents - who were mostly aged between 20-25 - said they intended to vote, with 83 per cent believing their vote can change the outcome.

60 per cent said they had never voted in a general election before.