John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

It is true that Deputy Deenihan brought forward this proposal during the debate on the Bill that established Fáilte Ireland. The result was that we adhered to the legislation as presented. I subsequently appointed several very capable women to the board. The chairperson, Ms Gillian Bowler, to whom I referred, was among them and has been extremely successful in developing Fáilte Ireland for the betterment of the tourism industry. I stress once again that it is not a question of there being any discrimination against women on the board but rather of my being pragmatic regarding the legislation that I bring before the House. On the vast majority of the boards under my remit there are many talented women and I intend to examine very carefully the composition of the board established by this Bill with a view to ensuring gender balance as far as is practicable.

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