Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

It is a pity the Minister will not include the proposed provision in the legislation. While I agree that co-decision making and gender balance tends to result in improved decision making, what matters most is not which gender is excluded or in a small minority but the gender imbalance. The Minister is hopeful about the pharmacy sector and her hopes may be well-placed but she should not harbour illusions about achieving gender balance in the Oireachtas because it will take hundreds of years at the current rate. This disturbing feature of parliamentary decision-making, in a country in which half the population is female, places an onus on Members to ensure the balance we want but may not live to see in the House is at least provided for in State boards and regulatory bodies. We must also ensure it holds firm in the future, irrespective of the nature or composition of the sector in question. It frequently occurs that those making decisions at senior level in predominately female sectors are predominately male. A number of obvious examples come to mind. Ensuring a balanced arrangement in a board or structure protects people of both genders. I regret the Minister will not accept the amendment.

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