Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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278. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of State boards under the remit of his Department or its agencies, in tabular form; the number of members of each board; the number of persons with a declared disability on each board; and the percentage of each board that is made up of persons with a declared disability. [62531/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Enhanced diversity on State Boards is a long standing commitment of Government and is also important in terms of enhancing the effectiveness of State Boards. I am strongly committed to building on the progress made in recent years in this regard.

The Deputy may be aware that in September 2020 I published an Annex to the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. The Annex deals with Gender Balance, Diversity and Inclusion. Provisions included in this Annex are specifically aimed at improving diversity on State Boards such as reducing the Board terms and facilitating greater turnover of Board members.

Most importantly, each Board should carry out an annual self-assessment evaluation and this process should incorporate a detailed analysis and critical assessment of the gender, diversity and skills mix within the Board.

The information requested by the Deputy regarding the State Boards under the remit of my Department and the bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out as follows. The Deputy should note that the declaration of a disability is voluntary and no Board members have provided such a disclosure.

** The declaration of a disability is voluntary and no Board members have provided such a disclosure.