Written answers
Wednesday, 21 April 2021
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Appointments to State Boards
John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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211. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the efforts his Department is making to achieve gender balance on all State boards and agencies under the remit of his Department; if he 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 he will make a statement on the matter. [20723/21]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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For State Boards under the aegis of my Department, appointments are made in line with the guidelines set out in the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, which include having due regard for the benefits of diversity on the Board, including gender. When any appointment is being made to a State Board under my Department’s remit, the existing gender balance on the Board forms part of the decision-making process. Appointments are also reviewed against key criteria, including the specific skills required for the role and for the Board in general.
The following table sets out the gender balance on the State Boards under the remit of this Department now compared to 2014, when the current Guidelines were formalised by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, including the target to achieve 40% representation of women and men on all State Boards.
| State Board | Gender Balance 2014 (or year of establishment if later) | Current Gender Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Ireland | Female 45%Male 55% | Female 42% Male 58% |
| Health and Safety Authority | Female 25%Male 75% | Female 42% Male 58% |
| IDA Ireland | Female 31%Male 69% | Female 42% Male 58% |
| Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority * | Female 60%Male 40% | Female 33% Male 67% |
| Low Pay Commission **(Est 2015) | Female 50%Male 50% | Female 50% Male 50% |
| National Standards Authority of Ireland | Female 46% Male 54% | Female 58% Male 42% |
| Personal Injuries Assessment Board | Female 50%Male 50% | Female 55% Male 45% |
| Workplace Relations Commission | Female 56%Male 44% | Female 67% Male 33% |
*IAASA - Most recent appointment December 2020 was female * *The National Minimum Wage Acts make provision for the Minister to, ‘in so far as is practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the members there is an equitable balance between men and women.’
Policy groups and advisory committees and councils work with and provide advice to my Department on a range of issues across the Department’s broad remit. While there is not an overall target for private sector representation, it is crucial that many advisory groups and councils have strong representation from the private sector. Groups such as the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council or the Department’s Retail Forum, for example, have a range of representatives from the private sector who provide important expertise to the workings of these groups.
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