Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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409. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that SIPTU has advised its members on the National University of Ireland Galway campus not to co-operate with the university's gender task force, as it was not engaged in consultations regarding its establishment; that there are concerns that the taskforce lacks transparency, and was not independently constituted, and no assurances have been provided with regard to confidentiality; and her plans to urgently address these matters. [19250/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The very serious shortcomings identified by the Equality Tribunal in its ruling last November in the case of Dr. Micheline Sheehy Skeffington must be acknowledged. Discrimination against women in the workplace is unacceptable in any setting and the issues brought to light in that case are of serious concern to me. For that reason, I have welcomed the response of NUI Galway in unreservedly accepting the ruling of the Tribunal and in establishing a Task Force to address related issues. However, it is important that this taskforce has the confidence of both the student body and the staff. I am aware of concerns about the proposed composition of the taskforce in Galway. I want to repeat my view that having the broadest possible support for the taskforce at the outset is central to its important work, and I would urge NUIG to ensure that every effort is made to achieve that goal.

More broadly, the Higher Education Authority is actively considering how best to support the improvement of gender equality across the Irish higher education system as a whole and is developing a database of staff employed in the sector, so that we can ensure gender-equality at all levels within the academic profession in Ireland becomes a reality.