The European Commission will ensure 40 per cent of its management positions are occupied by women within the next four years, EC vice-president Kristalina Georgieva has promised.

Ms Georgieva, a former vice-president of the World Bank and one of EU's most senior female officials, last night praised the contribution made by Irish women to the European Union. She was addressing an event at Ireland's Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels which aimed to highlight the issue of Irish representation at the EU institutions.

The recent retirement of Catherine Day as European Commission secretary general has turned the spotlight on Irish influence within the EU, amid fears that a "retirement cliff" is looming.

Projections suggest that between a quarter and a third of Irish nationals working in the European Commission will retire by 2017. Only 32 per cent of Irish officials at the commission are women, compared to an EU average of 42 per cent. The situation is similar in the European Parliament.

Although Ireland has an above-average number of female MEPs, the average age of Irish officials working for the parliament is significantly below average.

Recruitment

The number of Irish people applying for EU jobs has been declining in recent years, with only one Irish person passing the commission’s “concours” recruitment process this year.

Fine Gael MEP Maireád McGuinness said it was crucial Irish men and women applied for EU jobs, while those inside the EU institutions should be encouraged to move up the ranks. "It's not only a question of equality of opportunity, it's important that member states have a sense of being represented in all the EU institutions."

Ms Georgieva said that while women outnumber men in the European Commission by 54.5 per cent to 45.5 per cent, the problem lies in how those jobs are distributed.

“In particular, only about 30 per cent of our managers are female at the moment. That is why we have committed to get to at least 40 per cent female management by the end of our mandate in 2019.”

While the retirement of Ms Day after 10 years at the helm of the European Commission has sparked concern about Ireland's representation, a number of Irish women have assumed senior EU positions this year. These include the appointment of Karen Banks as deputy director general of the Commission Legal Service, Emer Finnegan as director in the Council Legal Service, and Máire Killoran as director for the Centre for Translation of the European Union.