Vol. 466 No. 6
10 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform whether he has received a copy of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Women's Rights entitled Women In Management in Local Administration which shows that local authority management remains almost exclusively male-dominated; his views on the recommendations of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12012/96]
The Minister has received a copy of the report entitled Women in Management in Local Administration, which he considers a useful addition to the information available on the gender composition of local authorities. The report generally reflects the findings of a survey published by his Department in 1993 in relation to the position in local authorities in 1990. At that time he indicated he considered it to be totally unacceptable that women were virtually absent from senior management in the public service.
The report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Women's Rights suggests a slight increase in the number of women in some management posts but the improvement is far from satisfactory and he hopes the joint committee's recommendations directed at the recruitment procedures and the internal promotion processes of local authorities will be given serious consideration. It was clear from the 1993 report that few public bodies had specific equality objectives and his Department has asked that all public sector bodies should introduce equal opportunities policies. The recommendations of the joint committee should serve to reinforce the need for proactive equal opportunities policies in local authorities and throughout the public service generally.
I welcome the Minister's comments on the report. It is incredible that there are no women city or county managers or assistant city or county managers. The representation of women in the higher echelons of senior management is disgraceful and while I welcome the Minister's acknowledgement in this regard, I would have preferred a more positive response about what can be done to address the problem. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Women's Rights intends to circulate this report to various administrations, but reports are generally filed away and ignored. What more positive steps will the Minister for Equality and Law Reform take to ensure the report's recommendations are acted on by the various administrations?
The Department of Equality and Law Reform has written to all public sector bodies requesting them to introduce equal opportunities policies. Members whose parties are represented on local authorities can highlight the matter at county council, health board or vocational education committee level. The initiative rests with individual members of those councils or the parties represented on them.
A change in attitude is necessary in the various organisations, but this should not happen solely from a top down perspective. People at all levels in county councils, health boards and so on should highlight the matter.
Does the Minister agree that an important element of local and central administration is the interview system? I know the Minister is not satisfied that only approximately 23 per cent of assistant principal posts and 12.1 per cent of principal posts are held by women. How can we break through the system? The Minister is correct in saying there is an attitude problem. The main difficulty arises at assistant principal and principal levels in the Civil Service. While there is outside involvement in the interview system for assistant secretary and secretary posts, that is not the case for the posts of assistant principal and principal. The same applies to equivalent posts in local administrations. The system should be much less introspective and less affected by internal attitudes. Women from various businesses, with a keen eye for selecting the most suitable candidates, should be represented on interview boards. The Minister should wear both hats to deal with this matter.
In referring to the Minister's other hat, I am sure the Deputy is referring to his statutory role in regard to the Civil Service appointments commission. He will convey his comments to the commissioners. Because of their perception of their family responsibilities, when starting a family many young women may not put themselves forward with the same vigour as their male colleagues for such posts. This should also be taken into account but he will consider the Deputy's suggestion constructively.
