Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his colleagues. He said in his opening statement that there had been a steady and sizeable increase in the share of women on the largest listed company boards. I suppose that refers to the ISEQ 20. Female representation has risen from 18% in 2018 to 32% in March this year. The Minister said that was a significant achievement in a short time but, clearly, more needs to be done. The Citizens' Assembly recommended enacting gender quota legislation to ensure at least 40% gender balance on the boards of private companies. The current Government strategy obviously relies on voluntary action by businesses. Based on CSO figures, it is likely to take 18 years to reach a 40% target. That is hardly acceptable. Does the Minister agree? Taking into account the limited human resources that might exist in companies, surely there will be a need for a mandatory approach if that projection of 18 years does not change. I would welcome the Minister's comment on that point.

The Minister also spoke about the Seanad and about Fine Gael's women representation at local level. In light of the fact he will soon become Taoiseach, what is his view on the need for quotas at local level? He also said he has a good record of appointing women nominees to the Seanad but Seanad reform is entirely absent from the programme for Government. Reform would allow structural change in how we ensure a gender balance in Seanad representation, rather than just relying on the Taoiseach of the day to ensure the quota is met.