Half of state boards ‘will be women’

The Government yesterday committed to ensuring almost half of the membership on all state boards in future are women, as it launched a transparent process for appointments to agencies and bodies.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin said the new guidelines marked “a sea change” in the way appointments are made.

The changes came after the Coalition faced criticism last year when it appointed a failed local election candidate to a museum board ahead of a nomination for the Seanad on the culture panel.