Fianna Fáil senator Ann Ormonde has been appointed as a rotating substitute member of Ireland's delegation to the assembly of the Council of Europe, in compliance with the council's insistence that every member-state have at least one woman on its team.
The council suspended Ireland's voting rights last month because its eight-member delegation consisted entirely of men. After negotiations between the main parties, it was agreed that none of the men would be dropped. But Fianna Fáil's Mr Brendan Daly agreed to rotate his position on a year-on, year-off basis.
Mr Daly was a substitute member, meaning he deputised when one of the four full members was absent.
In practice, all eight members travel to the council's monthly meetings in Strasbourg.
Fianna Fáil said last night that Ms Ormonde becomes Ireland's first ever woman member of the council's assembly. She will attend her first meeting next month as a substitute, with Mr Daly becoming a substitute member again in 12 months.
The four Irish full members of the council's assembly are Mr Noel Davern and Mr G.V. Wright (both Fianna Fáil), Mr Jim O'Keeffe (Fine Gael), and Mr Brendan Howlin (Labour).
The four substitutes currently are Mr Daly and Mr Paschal Mooney (both Fianna Fáil), Mr Jim Higgins (Fine Gael) and Mr Tony Gregory (Independent).
The issue arose after a resolution passed by the Council of Europe in September 2003 stated that, for 2004, all national delegations to the parliamentary assembly must contain at least one woman. The council's main task is to consider human rights and democracy issues across the member-states. Ireland's delegates are nominated by the party whips in the Oireachtas.
Senator Ormonde said yesterday she was honoured to be appointed "and look forward to highlighting that Irish women are involved in all facets of political and public life".