POLITICAL parties on this island are caught in a "time warp" and are still using 19th century models which have "passed their sell by date", a seminar on women in Irish politics was told at the weekend.
The trend towards district area partnerships both North and South of the Border represented a new style of democracy, Ms Joanne Vance, of the Northern Ireland Women into Politics project, told the seminar in Trinity College.
This development offered new political opportunities for women, but it was still at a "very fragile" stage, the seminar's chairwoman, Ms Ursula Barry, of University College Dublin, said.
Hosted by Ms Eileen Connolly of the Dublin City University Business School, the seminar was addressed by a panel of speakers, including the Fine Gael TD, Ms Frances Fitzgerald; Ms Mary White, of the Fianna Fail national executive and women's committee; Ms Kate Fearon, of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition; and Ms Vance. Also speaking on the Northern Ireland peace process were Ms Ronit Lentin (TCD), Ms Mairead McDonnell (UCD) and Mr Rick Wilford (Queen's University Belfast).
In a round table discussion on the theme of "different voices and different agendas", a 38 year old Belfast woman said she had never experienced democracy. In fact, democracy was so poorly served in the North that there wasn't even a debate about abortion, Ms Vance remarked.
The Northern Ireland Women into Politics project had identified a "culture off silence", which was in marked contrast to the more open attitude in the Republic, she said.
The culture of politics was more significant for women than the problems of combining politics with family life, Ms Frances Fitzgerald told the seminar. Though the Government executive had changed dramatically, with a less confrontational committee system debating legislation, the more established political parties were still caught in a "time warp", she said.
The system was "incredibly hierarchical", and it was hard for women to maintain their voice when in a minority. Women's representation was still only 13 per cent of the total, Ms Fitzgerald said, and she believed that the "critical mass concept" of more female involvement could make a difference.
It seemed as if Irish society was going through a "fallow period" in relation to stamping the women's agenda on the political system, she said, but the credibility and recognition afforded by the President, Mrs Robinson, to the voluntary and community movement meant that there was likely to be a much more dynamic relationship between community politics and the formal political system, she said.
Ms Mary White, of the Fianna Fail national executive - a businesswoman who founded L Chocolates - said it was "up to women themselves" to change the system, with enough "courage and common sense".
In the last two years, there had been "nothing stopping women from running for Fianna Fail", Ms White said. The obstacles lay "within women themselves" she believed. "Very few women have the courage and confidence and risk taking to stick their necks out, she said.