Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 12, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following new subsection:

"(2) In appointing persons to be members of the Authority, the Minister shall in so far as is practicable and having regard to relevant experience, ensure an equitable gender balance between men and women in the composition of the Authority.".

I do not want to waste time by arguing this issue from scratch as nobody will disagree with it. This is the weakest form of words I could find concerning the gender of appointments. Its weakness is the only criticism that could be made. However, some recognition should be given to the need to achieve a gender balance in almost every Bill. This is a modest way of achieving it for this Bill.

I also plead for its inclusion on grounds of consistency. Other Bills have passed through this House this year which contained exactly this provision and I lifted the exact wording for this amendment from another Bill. If it appears in some Bills, why not in others? The amendment is weak in that it does not say genders must be equal but that this be taken into account.

The least that people should expect of legislators is consistency. I would hate to think it was a matter of personal whim whether a provision of this kind was included. This has been included in legislation before. I snitched it from another Bill and it is the exact wording from that Bill.