Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2023
192. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the status of the Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44375/23]
View answerThe Government is ambitious to achieve substantive and sustainable gender equality on the boards and senior management of Irish companies. Our policy approach has focused on changing the culture of business. The independent, business-led, Balance for Better Business review group, supported by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has achieved significant success in this area. Women currently make up 36.1% of board members of Irish-owned companies listed on the ISEQ-20 Index in 2023 to date, above the EU average of 33.2%. The Government supports the objective of Deputy Higgins' Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021 to accelerate our efforts to strive for better balance in economic decision-making. Central to any consideration of potential amendments to Irish law are existing EU laws and legislative developments on gender balance applicable across member states. A new EU directive to improve the gender balance at board level in the largest EU publicly listed companies entered into force in December 2022 with a transposition period of two years. The directive will require large EU listed companies to publish information on the gender balance on their boards.
Targets are set for the boards of these listed companies, of 40% of each gender for the non-executive directors or 33% of all directors including both executive and non-executive directors. Member states will be required to ensure that listed companies that do not meet these targets adjust their selection process for board positions. Under the directive, where a member state has existing domestic initiatives meeting certain criteria, they may suspend the application of the targets. Improvement in the gender balance on listed companies achieved to date under the Balance for Better Business will therefore be an important consideration in the approach Ireland takes to implementing the directive.As part of the transposition of the directive domestically, my Department is examining existing national legislation and the options for transposition. My Department will then look to see if there are any elements on which we need to proceed in terms of what is set out in Deputy Higgins' Bill. I look forward to working with her and others to advance this goal.
