Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I welcome the acceptance of good governance practice that the chief executive will not be a voting member of the authority. The separation of operational control from governance is a good thing and should be reflected in all legislation which I believe will increasingly happen. I have no difficulty with the consequent knock-on amendments that necessitates.

In regard to the composition of the authority, my amendment No. 31 states that the Minister should ensure not less than 40% of the members of the authority shall be women and not less than 40% shall be men. For more than a decade, there have been standing Government instructions that public bodies be required to have gender equity. The 40% threshold for men and women is the norm that has been followed, I think, by every Government since the establishment of the former Department of Equality and Law Reform in 1993. The fact we have not achieved that balance more than a decade later is quite alarming. The fact we are required to include a specific provision in each enactment to achieve this balance is also disappointing. A decade later, achieving gender balance should be automatic.

In the past, there was a view that it was not possible to get suitable women candidates for certain types of boards. That is baloney and bunkum. There is no board which cannot have gender balance. I have not heard the Minister's current view on this amendment but I hope he will accept it as he accepted my previous one on structure.

Deputy Morgan wants to go one step further and have absolute gender balance with which I have no difficulty. He wants to ensure that not less than 50% of members of the authority should be women. That does not give one gender balance because on that basis, 100% of members of the authority could be women. I remember appointing a board which was very imbalanced in favour of women and there was an equality check on it. The notion that at least 40% of members of the authority should comprise both genders is the correct way to go and I hope the Minister of State accepts the amendment.

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