Written answers
Tuesday, 27 July 2021
Department of Education and Skills
Gender Balance
Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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964. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if education training boards should strive towards having a gender balance in its membership; if he has reviewed the membership of all education training boards to ensure gender balance; if he will be reviewing the education training boards codes of practice to ensure gender balance is being achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39691/21]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The arrangements for the membership of Education and Training Boards (ETBs), including gender balance, are governed by section 30 of the Education and Training Board Act 2013.
In accordance with that section, each ETB board is made of up 21 members as follows:
- 12 members elected by the relevant local authority;
- 2 members elected by ETB staff;
- 2 members appointed by the ETB from nominees of a National Parents Association(s) specified by the Minister;
- 5 members appointed by the ETB from bodies specified by the Minister which have a special interest in, or knowledge of education.
Section 30 also includes specific provisions regarding gender balance in each of the above categories of membership.
Accordingly, in accordance with section 30, the regulations for the election of the twelve local authority members provide that, in so far as is practicable, at least 40 per cent shall be women and at least 40 per cent shall be men and the regulations for the election of the two staff members provide for the election of one male and one female staff member.
Section 30 also requires that the nominees of the national association of parents shall be one man and one woman and that of the five members from the nominated bodies, at least two must be women and two must be men.
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