Political Participation - NDA
Marginalisation, Disability and Candidature in the 2024 Elections
About the project
Disabled people make up 22% of the population in Ireland; however, they are underrepresented in public and political life, including in standing for and being elected. The potential consequence is that they do not have the opportunity to contribute to decision-making processes around issues that concern them. A core principle of representative democracy is that all have equal rights and opportunities to participate in political decision-making as citizens and representatives.
There is currently no research in the Irish context on the impact of intersecting identities on the political participation of those within the disability community. This research focuses on the experiences of disabled candidates who stood in the Irish local and European elections (2024) who hold multiple marginalised identities, including those protected under the nine grounds of The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 (e.g. disabled women, disabled migrants, disabled travellers, disabled LGBTQ+ candidates). The research is comprised of 1-to-1 qualitative interviews with multiply marginalised disabled people who stood in the 2024 elections, utilising a case study approach detailing a small number of cases. The study aims to understand the intersection of barriers facing these candidates and how Ireland’s compliance with Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) could be better achieved using an intersectional lens.
Project Launch - February 2025
The University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin will launch of their research report "Disability, Diversity and Identity in Ireland’s Local and European Elections 2024".
Project reports available here.
Full NDA project report word version
NDA project report - easy to read
NDA project report PDF - easy to read
