A Fianna Fáil activist is set to mount a legal challenge to gender quotas.

Local Area Representative Brian Mohan has initiated legal action after he was unable to contest the general election due to a party decision to run one female candidate in Dublin Central.

Mr Mohan had hoped to secure a party nomination, but members were advised to choose a female candidate ahead of a selection convention in October, with former councilor Mary Fitzpatrick getting the nod.

Legislation introduced three years ago requires 30% of a party's candidates to be female - under penalty of losing half ts state funding, on which Irish political parties are heavily reliant.

The decision to run a female candidates without any contest have led to unhappiness among some male politicians who are not getting the chance to run for election.

Mr Mohan is challenging the constitutionality of Section 42 of the Electoral Act 2012

"The penalization of associations which are political parties on the basis of a failure to field candidates by reference to politically pre-determined quotas such as gender quotas, age quotas, racial quotas, socio-economic or religious quotas, is a purely “political discrimination” which is expressly prohibited by the Constitution," reads a statement by Mr Mohan.

"The State has no right by law to use public resources to encourage or bring about any particular outcome or type of outcome in relation to Dáil elections or referenda," it adds.  

His legal representatives are Former Minister for Justice and Progressive Democrat leader Michael McDowell, S.C. and Michael Ronayne, B.L.