“I am proud to be one of four women serving at the Cabinet table – that’s the most number of senior female ministers we’ve ever had. Having a female perspective at the decision making table is essential.”

Heather Humphreys is one Irish woman who has been very successful in her political career. The Fine Gael TD for Cavan Monaghan was appointed Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht earlier this year, taking the number of women who sit around the cabinet table to four.

“I don’t think I suffered as a result of my gender, but the challenge of balancing home and political life is definitely a considerable difficulty for female politicians.  I have two daughters in their early 20s, but if my children were younger, I’m not sure how I would manage my current workload.

“I juggled a full time job with being a county councillor when my children were young, which was tricky. I consider myself lucky, however, to have gotten involved in local politics when my children were young and by the time I got into national politics, the girls were that bit older. Timing was on my side,” she said.

The 2014 local elections saw a historic number of women elected in Irish politics. Female representation in Local Government is now at 21 per cent, an increase of 5 per cent since 2009, and two newly elected TDs have brought the number of women in the Dáil to 27, the highest ever number. Despite this, the gender gap remains substantial, and women are still inadequately represented in politics.

Minister Humphreys, who is a former mayor of Monaghan, believes that confidence has a big part to play when it comes to women putting themselves forward.

“I think often women don’t have the confidence. They certainly have the ability, but confidence can be an issue. The long hours, the level of travel if you are a rural TD, and the notion that politics is an old boys club would also have put women off entering politics in the past.

“However, while the hours involved will probably always be pretty intensive, I think the culture within politics is changing. Politics is a professional endeavour these days, the game has entirely changed, thankfully,” she said.

The Irish Government has introduced gender quotas for the next general election, which will ensure at least 30 percent of candidates on ballot papers are female. Minister Humphreys says that she is in favour of this move.

“Fine Gael has been specifically targeting female candidates and has professionalised its approach to recruiting women to run for the council or for the Dáil.

“While I have always believed in the best person getting the job, regardless of gender, I am in favour of the gender quotas because they will help to give voters a better choice,” she said.

Fine Gael TD for Laois Offaly Marcella Corcoran Kennedy came from a political family, so she was familiar with the work involved when she set out on her political career as councillor.

“My father and grandfather were councillors on Offaly County Council. When my father announced his retirement in 1999 the local party organisation asked me to consider seeking the nomination. I had been active in my father’s campaigns over the years and so it was not a big step for me to consider,” she said.

Despite her political background, Marcella said that she faced “all the usual challenges” as a female candidate.

“Organising the campaign, the financial side and childcare, was challenging. Also, overcoming prejudices from some people who were of a generation that saw politics as a male preserve.

“There are comparatively few Irish female role models available to women due to a traditionally male dominated political culture. The anti-social and anti-family working hours, and the sometimes confrontational aspect of the role may not appeal to women,” she said.

Marcella offers her advice to women who may be interested in becoming involved in politics.

“Join a political party, take on officership positions, consider running as a candidate, help out other people in their campaigns, connect with groups such as ‘Women for Election’. Political parties are under pressure to find female candidates for the next General Election as a result of gender quota legislation,” she said.

Clare Daly, an Independent TD for Dublin North, became politically active as student in DCU, when she became president of the students union. She then joined the Labour Party, where she became actively involved in the campaign for the Divorce Referendum in 1986. Clare believes that fewer women are involved in politics than men because they “have more sense”.

“The manner in which politics is structured in this country means that very little is achieved, certainly at local level, with the decisions being very much top heavy and top down, rather than bottom up.

“I think women feel that they achieve greater results by being organised on the ground in their communities. Also, with very few role models of woman in politics, it isn’t seen as a natural path, although that is obviously changing,” she said.