The Taoiseach should use his 11 Seanad nominations to ensure gender balance and diversity in the Upper House, the chairwoman of the National Women's Council of Ireland has said.
Ms Noreen Byrne said the proportion of women who were elected to the Seanad was "shamefully low" at 16 per cent. Although women candidates were proportionately more successful than men, the main political parties continued to favour "older male candidates" in nominating people to go before the Seanad electoral panels, she added.
