Dublin City Council has officially launched its new crossparty
women’s committee – the first officially formed,
fully cross-party working committee of its kind at local
level anywhere in the country.

Building on the work of informal women’s committees of
the past, its main aim is to strengthen women’s cross-party
co-operation, thereby maximising overall impact on policies
and decision-making.

It offers the opportunities to harness the institutional
knowledge of long-established women councillors and
combine it with new ideas and perspectives from more
recently elected women councillors, also drawing on various
skills of all women councillors.

“Female councillors do not network as much as our male
counterparts due to other commitments outside of the council,
including jobs and caring responsibilities. This committee
provides a set time every few weeks to gather to discuss and
implement our common goals and priorities,” noted committee
chairperson Cllr Darcy Lonergan.

The three key focus areas will be (1) Economic: More benefits for carers and better maternity leave; (2) Safety: Making Dublin a safer city, in terms of urban planning, transport and domestic violence; and (3) Council:
Information exchange, sharing area motions, collective motions.