We need more women in politics. Since the first election of women to the Oireachtas in 1918, only 78 women have been elected. The last General Election saw 22 female TDs elected to the Dáil out of 166, just 13.25%. Out of the 470 candidates who stood for election in May 2007 only 82 of these were women. Ireland ranks 82nd out of 189 countries for the percentage of women in parliament and 23rd out of the 27 EU countries.