Government ministers have increased the proportion of women they appoint to State boards following a threat from Minister of State, Mr Willie O'Dea, to bring in legislation if there was no change.
However, some ministers took more notice of him than others, with the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, not appointing any woman to a State board in the second half of 2001.
This compares with the Taoiseach, one of whose two appointees were women, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, who had 64 per cent women among his appointees, and her party colleague, the Minister for Justice, whose appointees included 48 per cent women.
According to figures presented to the Cabinet last week, 36 per cent of all ministerial appointees to State boards were women in the second half of last year, compared with 33 per cent in the first half of the year.
Where the entire membership of boards were up for re-appointment, or new boards were created, 40 per cent of those appointed were women.
Last July Mr O'Dea said he would consider bringing in legislation if the proportion of women on State boards did not improve. This followed the publication of a report that showed that the proportion of women on such boards actually fell in the previous five years. In 1993 the then Government announced a policy of ensuring that at least 40 per cent of all State board members were women.
Mr O'Dea said last summer he had sent memos to all ministers asking them to review the gender make-up of the boards.
He said he would give this voluntary system a year, and would prepare two six-monthly reports for the Cabinet.
He said if the voluntary system did not work, he would consider introducing legislation.
The first of these reports was received by the Cabinet last week, and shows that the total number of women on State boards was 29 per cent.
The Departments of Agriculture and Food and of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources had the lowest proportions, with 14 per cent each, while the Department of Social and Family Affairs exceeded the target, with 46 per cent, and that of the Environment came close, with 39 per cent.
The figures also showed the pattern of appointments following Mr O'Dea's letter, where the Ministers for the Arts, Sports and Tourism, Education and Science, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Social and Family Affairs and the Taoiseach all exceeded the 40 per cent target in appointments they made to State boards.
Of the ten people appointed to such boards by Ms Harney, none were women.
A spokesman for the Department pointed out that the opportunity to make such appointments varied.
When a new board was being constituted or reappointed figures showed the Department of Agriculture appointed 18 per cent women, Arts and Tourism 33 per cent, Foreign Affairs 30 per cent, the Department of Health 43 per cent and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform 44 per cent.