Mr. Colm Kelly:

We concur with our colleagues who have made this point. Head 18(2)(a) requires revision. It refers to two members “having sufficient experience and expertise relating to the functions of the Agency”. That does not necessarily mean they will understand the complexities of what circumstances are like on the ground. This is where we all agree. Irrespective of which agency we come from, we are all informing the committee that that wording needs revision. The recommendation we made to the committee in our written submission outlines that this provision needs to be revised to include the experiences of service providers and those in service delivery to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Including the third sector, such as non-profits and NGOs, will depoliticise this a little bit. We are neutral, and while we are funded by the Government, it will create a broader buy-in and sense of collective effort and different viewpoints that, for so long, have been ignored in the seats of power such as the Oireachtas. It is important that there is that type of inclusion at board level.

Moreover, although we did not state this in our written submission, we should also take into account the wonderful work done by the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. It provided clear recommendations to us all on how equal and inclusive our boards, public bodies and publicly funded organisations should be.

They provide very clear recommendations to us all on how equal and inclusive our boards, public bodies and publicly funded organisations should be. Those are the starting points, namely, the amendment of head 18(2)(a) and consideration of what was presented by experts and decided on by the citizens at the assembly. We can talk about toxic masculinity at a later stage.