2002 SEANAD ÉIREANN ELECTION RESULTS

After the disappointing the Dáil election results and cabinet appointments it was hoped that better news for women might emerge from the Seanad election. However the results simply confirm that women's progress in Irish politics has stalled. Four new women senators were elected but at the same time three incumbents were defeated and one retired, leaving the number of elected women senators unchanged. It was not a good election for veterans, for in addition to the four defeated Fine Gael senators were three former TDs.

It may be hoped that the Taoiseach's appointments might bring the total number of women senators past the previous record - there are currently three nominated women senators from the coalition parties - but given the setback to women of the new cabinet this does not seem particularly likely. Table 1 gives a gender breakdown of voting results by panel, while Table 2 lists the women elected (incumbents are marked with †). The Seanad page of the Observatory gives a breakdown of each party's senators.

Table 1: Proportion of women candidates elected to each panel

Table 2: Elected women senators