Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1608. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice the number of State boards under the remit of her 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. [41392/22]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, selection processes for appointments to State boards are supported by the Public Appointments Service. The State boards process is designed to enable any person to apply for a position on a State board. My Department regularly advertises positions for appointment to State boards on www.stateboards.ie.
In making appointments to State boards, my Department and the agencies under the remit of my Department ensure compliance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016), and pay particular attention to its recent Annex on Gender Balance, Diversity and Inclusion (2020), in addition to the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards (2015).
It is worth noting that many of the bodies in the justice sector were established on foot of primary legislation; where such legislation provides specific gender balance requirements, and my Department ensures compliance. A number of boards have ex officio positions which may need to be held by particular office holders. I can assure the Deputy that I am personally committed to achieving full gender balance on boards across the justice sector.
The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the composition of board memberships of the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out below in tabular format.
|
State Board/Body |
Number of members of the board / body |
Gender-breakdown of the board/body |
|
Classification of Films Appeal Board |
6 |
3 women 3 men |
|
Censorship of Publications Board |
0 |
0 women 0 man |
|
Courts Service Board |
18 |
10 women 8 men |
|
Garda Síochána Inspectorate |
3 |
1 woman 2 man |
|
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) |
3 |
1 women 2 man |
|
International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) |
46 |
22 women 24 men |
|
Judicial Appointments Advisory Board (JAAB) |
9 |
3 women 6 men |
|
Legal Aid Board (LAB) |
13 |
8 women 5 men |
|
Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) |
11 |
7 women 4 men |
|
Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board |
4 |
3 women 1 man |
|
Parole Board |
13 |
5 women 8 men |
|
Policing Authority |
8 |
4 women 4 men |
|
Private Security Authority (PSA) |
11 |
4 women 7 men |
|
Private Security Appeal Board (PSAB) |
6 |
3 women 3 man |
|
Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) |
11 |
7 women 4 men |
|
Property Services Appeal Board (PSAB) |
5 |
3 women 2 men |
It is not possible to provide the Deputy with the number of persons with a declared disability on each board and the percentage of each board that is made up of persons with a declared disability, as this data is not retained. Disability declarations are ultimately voluntary declarations made confidentially.
