Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1030. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Defence the number of State boards under the remit of his Department or its agencies; the total number of members of each board; the numbers on each board broken down according to gender; and the number of persons with a declared disability on each board in tabular form.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41383/22]
View answerThe only State body under the aegis of my Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners, one of whom must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.
My Department reports on the gender balance of the Army Pensions Board annually to the Department of Justice which has a coordinating role in this regard. The most recent return showed a gender balance of 67% male and 33% female in respect of the Army Pensions Board.
As disability returns are anonymous and the number of persons who sit on the Army Pensions Board is small, my Department cannot provide a breakdown on the number of persons with a declared disability as it could constitute a breach of confidentiality. It should also be noted that there is no onus on an employee with a disability to declare it.
