John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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663. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the efforts her Department is making to achieve gender balance on all State boards and agencies under the remit of her Department; if she will set out the changes achieved to date on each; if 50% of the membership of all boards, policy groups or agencies that provide advice to Government on matters of policy will be reserved for appropriately qualified individuals from the private sector in order to achieve a balance between the public and private sectors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20735/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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As Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, I have responsibility for the Corporate Governance of 21 State Agencies under the aegis of my Department, including Board appointments.

The current overall gender balance ratio, in respect of the 21 State Boards, is 50% female and 50% male representation.

Of the 21 State Boards;

- 12 have a female representation of 50% or more

- 14 of those reached an enhanced 45% target;

- 16 have reached the 40% gender balance target set by the Government;

In respect of Fáilte Ireland, Screen Ireland and Sport Ireland, these Boards do not currently have 40% gender balance but processes are ongoing to fill vacancies on these Boards and gender balance will be taken into consideration in any appointments.

Tourism Ireland and the Ulster Scots Agency do not currently have 40% gender balance and I will examine the possibility of enhancing the balance on these boards when relevant vacancies next arise.

The success of my Department in achieving a good gender balance ratio on the majority of its State boards is the result of a concerted effort in recent years. The following are examples of the type of efforts engaged when arrangements are being made to fill Board vacancies.

- The requirement for gender balance is always highlighted in advertisements for expressions of interest in appointments to State Boards, using the Public Appointments Service (PAS) website Stateboards.ie

- The Chair of the Board of the respective Agency - and a representative from my Department - sit on an assessment panel convened by PAS to select a shortlist to be provided to me for my consideration.Consistent care is taken during the selection process so that this shortlist is gender balanced.

- In some circumstances, Boards (e.g the Arts Council) have a requirement for gender balance written into their legislation.

My Department’s internal procedures, for appointments to State Boards, has recently been updated to include consideration of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) with a strong focus on maintaining my Department’s good gender balance record.

With regard to the issue of private sector representation to which the Deputy refers, it is open to anyone to apply to be a Board member under the PAS rules and process. For example the PAS eligibility criteria specifies;

'Applications are welcome from people who believe they have the relevant skills and experience to join a State Board, barring any disqualifications that may apply under legislative provision. Certain of these provisions are outlined in the Companies Act, 2014 and the Company Law Enforcement Act, 2001'.

The Department takes care to specify the skill sets required for each Board, and appointments are regularly made of experts across a variety of sectors and professions. Consequently, anyone can and is welcome to apply to be a Board Member regardless of Sector or indeed gender.