Alan Shatter
Question:10 Mr. Shatter asked the Taoiseach if he will outline the number of barristers employed in the Office of the Attorney General; and if he will give a breakdown by gender.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Attorney General's Office Staff.
There are 20 barristers in the Office of the Attorney General of whom 16 are men and four are women.
Would the Taoiseach agree that there is an extraordinary imbalance in the numbers of women compared to the numbers of men in the Attorney General's Office, which has been described as a State bastion of male supremacy? Would the Taoiseach agree that efforts should now be made to recruit additional women to the Attorney General's Office who might deal with certain legal areas of our national life in a somewhat more sensitive way than some of the male members?
The proportion of women barristers in the Attorney General's Office is approximately the same as the proportion of women barristers in the Law Library at present who have the number of years practice required for recruitment to that office. The Deputy may or may not be aware that the minimum number of years practice is four years. Considerably fewer women than men chose to practice at the Bar up to 15 years ago and less than one in ten barristers were women, but the situation is reversing itself in recent times.
Question No. 11, please.
Is the Taoiseach aware that there has been a mini-revolution in the Bar — although I suppose to talk about a revolution in the Bar might be somewhat of an exaggeration — in that there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of women practising at the Bar? Perhaps the Taoiseach would indicate from where he gets his figures to suggest that the Attorney General's Office reflects the balance of practising barristers currently at the Bar? I suggest to the Taoiseach that it does not reflect such a balance and that the imbalance in the Attorney General's Office is worthy of investigation by the Employment Equality Agency.
The Deputy can be assured that the matter of gender does not and will not enter into the recruitment of barristers to the Attorney General's Office. That is the way it is and that is the way it will continue. I have no doubt the imbalance will be corrected over a period of time.
The Taoiseach said the same about appointments to the Government.
I am calling Question No. 11.