Minister Cummins allocates €174,517 to See Her Elected, to support the participation of women from rural areas in local government structures
- Published on: 30 October 2025
- Last updated on: 30 October 2025
Minister of State for Planning and Local Government John Cummins TD has today announced funding of €174,517 for See Her Elected (SHE), in support of their work in promoting and encouraging the participation of women from rural Ireland in local politics.
Announcing the funding, the Minister said:
“The outcome of the local elections last June was encouraging in terms of the participation of women in local government: a record number of female candidates participated, and we saw the highest proportion of women elected to local government in the history of the state.
“There is, however, still plenty of work to be done towards our goal of making our council chambers fully reflective of the communities they serve. Groups like See Her Elected are essential to making that goal a reality.”
The funding announced today by Minister Cummins is an increase of approximately 60% since the original grant in 2019.
See Her Elected was initially founded in response to concerns about the under-representation of women on county councils in the north-west and midlands regions. See Her Elected is built on the ethos of women learning and supporting each other, providing them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to participate in local politics. Due to the popularity of the programme and a larger catchment audience through online delivery, SHE has now expanded its reach to all of rural Ireland, collaborating with local authorities across the country. SHE's focus for 2026 is on the retention of existing female councillors and encouraging female candidates to begin preparing for the 2029 local elections.
Minister Cummins said:
“My Department has fully funded See Her Elected since its inception in 2019. The funding, which I am pleased to announce today, represents an increase of approximately 60% since the original grant in 2019, and illustrates the fact that SHE have become a key partner in our efforts to promote the participation of women from all walks of life in local democracy. The SHE team contributed enormously to the successes of women in the local elections in 2024. Approximately 35% of women councillors who ran in the 2024 local elections received support from SHE."
Concluding, the Minister said:
“On foot of the strong commitments in the Programme for Government, my Department will continue to support initiatives aimed at making our local council chambers fully reflective of the modern communities they serve.”
Ends