Gender Equality

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 31 March 2022

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Ceisteanna (254)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

254. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he is taking to identify and address gender pay disparity in his Department and public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17361/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

My Department prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. At the end of February 2022, 50.88% of the workforce was male while 49.12% were female. It is committed to equal pay and all salaries are equal regardless of gender.

Action 8.5 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan makes a commitment “to improve gender balance at each level by reviewing supports and policies to ensure these are impactful and measurable”. My Department fully supports this commitment.

My Department has proactively managed its gender balance particularly at senior management level where at Assistant Principal (AP) and Principal Officer (PO) levels there was a relatively low representation of females in the past. At the most senior level of my Department 50% of Assistant Secretaries and equivalents are female. However, in January 2021 only 28% of POs and equivalents and 44% of AP and equivalents were female. Following a concerted focus on encouraging greater numbers of women to apply for senior roles in my Department, these levels have improved over the past year and at the end of February 2022 of 43% of POs and equivalent were female and 46% of AP and equivalents were female. My Department is very encouraged by this growth in female participation in these two grades and will continue to monitor gender equality across all grades.

A gender action plan has been developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department is committed to advancing the actions set down in the plan, and has developed its own departmental action plan. My Department has also established a senior working group who are looking at ways to improve female participation rate at a senior level. My Department actively supports family friendly initiatives such as flexible working hours, shorter working year and work sharing across all the grades where appropriate. A diversity policy will also be developed in 2022 which will include gender equality measures.

My Department does not hold the requested information in respect of the State Bodies under its aegis. These State Bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas, as set out in the table below.

State Body	Contact E-mail Address
An Bord Pleanála	[e-mail]
An Fóram Uisce (theWater Forum)	[e-mail]
Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum	[e-mail]
Ervia	[e-mail]
Gas Networks Ireland	[e-mail]
Heritage Council	[e-mail]
Housing Finance Agency	[e-mail]
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency	[e-mail]
Irish Water	[e-mail]
Land Development Agency	[e-mail]
Local Government Management Agency	[e-mail]
National Oversight and Audit Commission	[e-mail]
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee	[e-mail]
Office of the Planning Regulator	[e-mail]
Ordnance Survey Ireland	[e-mail]
Property Registration Authority	[e-mail]
Pyrite Resolution Board	[e-mail]
Residential Tenancies Board	[e-mail]
Valuation Office	[e-mail]
Valuation Tribunal	[e-mail]
Water Advisory Body	[e-mail]
Waterways Ireland	[e-mail]