Green Party: women candidates Rapists receive "derisory" sentences from the courts, the Green Party claimed yesterday when launching a paper demanding better rights and services for women.
"Ireland has the worst record in the EU for bringing rapists to justice with only 5 per cent of reported rape cases getting a conviction," Dublin MEP Ms Patricia McKenna said.
The Greens said Ireland has the third-worst breast cancer and heart disease death rates in the EU.
"Yet the State has been slow to extend the "Breast Check" cancer screening services across the State," she said.
The Greens are running 159 women. Some 37 per cent of Green candidates nationally and 54 per cent of their candidates running in Dublin are female while two of the party's three candidates for the European Parliament are women.
Green Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent said women currently hold only 13 per cent of the seats in the Dáil, 15 per cent of those on local councils and one third of MEP places.
"Research has shown that a critical mass of 30 per cent of either gender is needed to generate a "culture of change" within policy decision-making," he said.
"The increased participation of women in decision-making will not only change who is making the decisions but also what is on the agenda."
