Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 February 2014
114. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is satisfied with the number of women currently serving on State boards under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10026/14]
View answerAppointments to the boards of bodies accountable to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation are made in accordance with the legislation under which the body was established. The relevant legislative provisions vary from body to body. For example, in certain cases the legislation provides for the appointment of persons nominated by specified stakeholders, such as employer or trade union representative bodies. This can sometimes have a limiting effect on the scope to address gender imbalances. In other cases there may be no such provisions.
Appointments are also made based on the expertise and experience of individuals, the balance of skills and attributes in terms of the overall composition of the board, the gender balance of the board and the availability and commitment of people to serve on the board. So, whilst achieving greater gender balance on State boards is an important goal, the overriding focus is on getting the best people for particular board appointments.
To this end, I have since 2011 launched public campaigns inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons for appointment to the boards of the agencies under the aegis of my Department. The purpose of the campaign was to broaden the pool of suitable candidates for consideration for appointment to boards. I have made it clear that in considering applications that I would give due regard to Government policy on gender balance on State boards. The current gender balance of the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out in the following tabular statement.
DJEI Agency Board Gender Breakdown as at 31/01/14
|
Agency |
Male |
Female |
Current Membership |
Vacancies |
Total Board positions |
% Male |
% Female |
|
NCA |
5 |
6 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
45.5% |
54.5% |
|
SFI |
7 |
5 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
58.3% |
41.7% |
|
PIAB |
6 |
5 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
54.5% |
45.5% |
|
EI |
5 |
4 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
55.6% |
44.4% |
|
IDA |
8 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
13 |
80.0% |
20.0% |
|
NSAI |
8 |
4 |
12 |
2 |
14 |
66.7% |
33.3% |
|
HSA |
6 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
11 |
85.7% |
14.3% |
|
IAASA |
7 |
8 |
15 |
0 |
15 |
46.7% |
53.3% |
|
Forfás |
5 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
83.3% |
16.7% |
|
Shannon |
9 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
90.0% |
10.0% |
|
ITI * |
3 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
50.0% |
50.0% |
|
LRC |
4 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
80.0% |
20.0% |
|
|
73 |
41 |
114 |
14 |
128 |
64.0% |
36.0% |
* Nominated by Minister and approved by North South Ministerial Council
As can be seen, in relation to the bodies to which I appoint members, over half of these exceeded the 40% minimum gender balance target and in aggregate we are at 36% female and 64 % male representation. I am satisfied, in the context of the constraints I have noted regarding nominating bodies and specialist skills needs, that the bodies under the remit of my Department in broad terms have good gender balance on their boards, albeit that in some individual cases the level of female representation could be improved. The Deputy might further note that when Forfás is dissolved and Shannon Development restructured, such that the existing board of both bodies will no longer exist, later this year, the gender balance of the remaining boards under my Department’s remit will have, on average, 52% male and 48% female representation. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will have responsibility for the new Board of the new Shannon entity.
