Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 11, line 12, after "members" to insert the following:

"and the Minister shall ensure that not less than 40 per cent of the members shall be men and not less than 40 per cent shall be women".

During our discussion of this amendment on Committee Stage I asked the Minister to give legislative effect to a commitment to ensure gender balance on the boards of State agencies. Recent figures show a certain amount of slippage in this regard, particularly in transport where women are under-represented on the boards of departmental agencies. I reiterate my appeal to the Minister to give a clear commitment, rather than an aspiration, to ensure gender balance on the board of the new road safety authority.

With regard to amendment No. 27 on the appointment of board members, on Committee Stage I expressed concern about the long-standing practice by various Ministers of appointing their cronies to State boards. I indicated that while I had no difficulty with the appointment of individuals of the same political persuasion as Ministers, I was concerned that, too often, the cronies appointed have no expertise. I do not mind which party a person belongs to provided he or she has specific expertise to offer an organisation.

The Minister appeared to suggest that common sense would be required but the legislation does not stipulate that appointees must have relevant expertise. The amendment merely provides that the Minister specify the experience and competence of each board member on his or her appointment. This is not too much ask as it puts a brake on the practice of appointing constituency buddies and so forth. The amendment attempts to set a basic standard in requiring that the Minister specify, in two or three lines, the reasons an appointee is suitable for the position and what is his or her particular expertise, competence or experience in the relevant area. This is a reasonable proposal which will result in higher standards and more relevant expertise or experience on the part of members of State boards.

See this speech in context