Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Dec 1995

Vol. 459 No. 5

Written Answers. - Diplomatic Service.

Theresa Ahearn

Question:

31 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of women employed in the Diplomatic Corps; their rank; the proposals, if any, he has to increase the number of women in the Diplomatic Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17927/95]

Mary Wallace

Question:

41 Miss M. Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the action, if any, he is taking to improve gender balance in senior appointments and throughout his Department. [18321/95]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 41 together.

My Department and the Office of the Tánaiste fully implement the Government's policy of equality of opportunity in the Civil Service. The objective of this equal opportunity policy is to ensure that all staff have an equal chance to develop their potential and to advance on the basis of merit and ability. More specifically, it seeks to ensure fuller participation of women at all levels in the Civil Service. I regard the equal opportunity policy as an essential element of progressive personnel management and an important means of developing the full potential of all employees.

It is the policy and practice of my Department and the Office of the Tánaiste that the principles of equality of opportunity are applied to the recruitment, placement, promotion and career development of all its employees. At induction courses, new staff are briefed on the Civil Service equal opportunity policy. In its assignment of staff to positions, the Department ensures that there is no discrimination on the basis of gender or marital status. The Department also ensures that all staff are given equal access to training and development opportunities.

I am pleased to report that the overall number of women in the Diplomatic Service has continued to grow over recent years. The total number of officers serving in the diplomatic grades at present is 248, of which 49 or 20 per cent are women, including 15 per cent of those at Assistant Secretary level. The grade breakdown is:

Grade	Numbers in the grade	Number of women	% of women
Secretary	1	0	0
Second Secretary	1	0	0
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Grade 1	1	0	0
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Grade 2	4	0	0
Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary/Assistant Secretary	35	6	15
Counsellor	46	7	15
First Secretary	95	17	18
Third Secretary	65	19	29
Total	248	49	20

Recruitment into the Diplomatic Service is done by way of an open competition organised by the Civil Service Commission. In recent years, officials of my Department have worked with the Civil Service Commission to increase the number of women entering the Diplomatic Service. A number of changes have been made to the recruitment procedure and this has led to some improvement in the proportion of female entrants to the Diplomatic Service. In 1995, approximately one-third of Third Secretaries joining the Department of Foreign Affairs were women.

The Civil Service Commission and my Department will continue to keep this matter under review.

In relation to the Office of the Tánaiste the grade breakdown is as follows:

Grade	Numbers in the grade	Number of women	% of women
Assistant Secretary	1	1	100
Principal Officer	2	0	0
Assistant Principal	3	3	100
Administrative Officer	1	0	0
Higher Executive Officer	3	1	33