Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

One of the things I am proudest of in this term of office is that we put in place an appointment system for State boards. Those reforms previously received very little media coverage despite the transformation of a system that has been the subject of political controversy since I first entered politics.

There are now more than 4,600 people registered on a dedicated website, stateboards.ie, to receive notifications about vacancies on State boards. More than 300 appointments have been made using the process for the past 12 months. The system is administered by the Public Appointments Service, a body with an impeccable track record.

I am particularly pleased about one achievement. As far back as 1993 the then Government set a gender target of 40% in regard to State board appointments but that target has never been met. Under the new process, approximately 45% of appointments are now women and it is only a matter of a short time before the 45% target is actually met.

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