Ireland Minister of State for Sport Patrick O'Donovan announced plans to introduce a 30% gender quota for sporting bodies aimed at helping women "break the last glass ceiling," according to Vivienne Clarke of the IRISH TIMES. Under new rules, which O'Donovan "hopes to introduce in the new year," sporting bodies will "face cuts to their State funding" unless at least 30% of their board positions are filled by women. He said, "We need role models for women, on and off the field. This is one element in empowering them. We also need to look at coaching and mentoring." An analysis by The Irish Times earlier this year showed that of the top 20 sports organizations in terms of '15 state funding, seven of them had a female representation of 10% or less. Between the 50 places filled by the exec committees/boards of the FA of Ireland, the Irish Rugby Football Union and the Gaelic Athletic Association there was "just a single female representative." If an organization has 10 or more employees, it will have until '19 to comply, "with smaller bodies getting an extra year’s grace." Failure to comply will result in cuts to state funding, although it has not "been decided by how much." O'Donovan said, "I'm not getting hung up on the financial penalty. I'm just trying to provide an opportunity for women to break the last glass ceiling" (IRISH TIMES, 12/12).
