Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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823. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the gender quota targets for the boards of State bodies and agencies under their remit; the level reached to date; and their future plans to meet and maintain the targets. [32756/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I would like to inform the Deputy that since my Department was established in June 2011 to the present time, five non-commercial State agencies have been funded by the Exchequer through my Department's Vote, namely the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Family Support Agency, the National Educational Welfare Board and the Ombudsman for Children. With effect from 1 January 2012, I have taken responsibility for the Children Detention Schools as provided in Part 10 of the Children Act 2001.

Apart from the Ombudsman for Children's Office which does not have a board, I am responsible for all board of management appointments.

In making my decisions on appointments to Boards, subject to the governing legislation, I will consider the most suitable persons for the positions available with due regard to the body or agency in question and its particular responsibilities and I will seek to ensure that the appropriate mix of skills and experience is in place to achieve the best result.

Since this Department's establishment, 48 persons have been appointed to those Boards of whom 29 were female. The proportion of women on the Boards of Management of State agencies under the Department of Children and Youth Affairs currently stands at 55.1%. Given this balanced gender ratio, I am satisfied with the number of women currently serving on State boards under my remit.