John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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155. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on gender balance on State boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32360/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Data from the State Boards website indicates that the average gender breakdown of the 2,120 board members is now 45% (954) female and 55% (1,166) male. There are 208 non-vacant boards (a vacant board is an established board with no board members currently in place).

In 2021, 34% of applicants to State Boards were female, and 52% of those appointed to State Boards were female.

108 non-vacant boards (51.9%) have met the goal of having at least 40% of each gender represented on the board in question.

I am committed to furthering the diversity of gender representation on State Boards.In September 2020, I launched an Annex to the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies,dealing with the issues of Gender Balance, Diversity and Inclusion. This Annex sets out measures designed to enhance the diversity of membership of State Boards, addressing recommendations made by the Inter-departmental group report on Gender Balance on State Boards (2019).

Notwithstanding the progress made to date, I will continue to look at options to further gender diversity on State Boards.