Only one in four appointments to State agencies since 1997 have been women, well short of the 40 per cent quota promised by the Government when it came to power three years ago.
A survey of 13 of the 15 Government departments reveals that an average of only 26.79 per cent women have been appointed to boards and semi-state bodies by various ministers since 1997.
The figures have prompted the Equality Agency to call on the Government to establish a databank of suitable and qualified women candidates for State appointments and to set deadlines in which it intends fulfilling its commitment to improve the gender balance.
The worst offender when it comes to appointments is the Department of Defence, which has appointed only 6.3 per cent of women to the three boards under its aegis. Seven of the 16 appointments made by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, to the Irish Red Cross in 1997 were women, while the additional appointment made this year was a man.
Next lowest was the Department of Finance, where only 21 per cent of appointments were to women. Figures show that of the 80 appointments made to the 11 bodies under its aegis, including the Central Bank and the Revenue Commissioners since 1997, only 15 were women.
The Department of Justice, which has responsibility for equality, did not fare much better, with only 25.75 per cent of appointments to women. The bodies which the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform makes appointments to include prison visiting committees, the film censorship board and the criminal injuries compensation tribunal.
The figures show that only 17 per cent of the members of the Cork Prison Visiting Committee appointed by the Minister in 1999 were women.
The Department with the best record and the only one to exceed the 40 per cent female quota was Foreign Affairs, where 48 per cent of appointments in the last three years were to women.
The information was released to the Fine Gael frontbench spokeswoman, Ms Frances Fitzgerald, who last night condemned the Government for ignoring women when it comes to State appointments.
She called on the Government to undertake an annual equality audit to show the progress on female appointments. The argument that women were not capable or available was now "an old story".
"There might be the odd specialised area where there is a problem but in the main there is no reason why more women cannot sit on State boards."
The head of communications with the Equality Authority, Ms Mary McKeon, welcomed the fact that there was an equality target. However, she described the figures released to Ms Fitzgerald as "disappointing" and said the Government should establish its own database of qualified and suitable women.
She said the Government should also establish deadlines for when it would meet its State board equality targets.
A commitment to a 40 per cent gender balance policy has been Government policy since 1991 and was reaffirmed by Fianna Fail and the PDs when they came to power in June 1997.
A spokesman for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said last night there has been a huge improvement in the number of women appointed to State boards in the last 10 years. The Government was still committed to reaching its promised 40 per cent quota.
The breakdown of male/female appointments to State boards in the last three years for each Government department is:
Department of the Taoiseach: male 69.2 per cent; female 30.8 per cent.
Department of Finance: male 79.5 per cent; female 20.5 per cent.
Department of Foreign Affairs: male 52 per cent; female 48 per cent.
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform: male 74.25 per cent; female 25.75 per cent.
Department of Enterprise: male 73.3 per cent; female 26.6 per cent.
Department of Defence: male 93.7 per cent; female 6.3 per cent.
Department of Health: male 70.8 per cent; female 29.2 per cent.
Department of Education: male 62.3 per cent; female 37.7 per cent.
Department of Agriculture: male 78.9 per cent; female 21.1 per cent.
Department of Marine: not available.
Department of the Environment: male 63 per cent, female 27 per cent.
Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs: male 65.75 per cent; female 25.5 per cent.
Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation: male 74.5 per cent; female 25.5 per cent.
Department of Public Enterprise: male 75.5 per cent; female 24.5 per cent.
Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands: not available.