Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am increasingly conscious, when I go into a meeting or am on a panel, as to what the gender balance is. I make a point of ensuring that I notice. There are a lot of meetings one goes to where it is all male or there is only one woman, and that is not optimum in terms of good decision-making. It is something that needs to change.

In terms of my own staff, I have appointed a senior press person, Ms Sarah Meade, and Ms Angela Flanagan on the policy side. I am giving consideration to further appointments on my own side so that, at least when it comes to the staff who I can appoint and who are around me supporting my work, there will be greater gender balance than there is now. I do not have a role when it comes to the Civil Service end of the Department. It is definitely something that we need to have regard to, as vacancies arise and as people apply for positions in the Department, that we have greater gender parity and greater diversity because that means better decisions would be made, which is most important.

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