Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have rejected suggestions that the Coalition leaders have failed when it comes to ensuring gender equality in their ministerial appointments.
Six of the 23 ministers of state announced today are women while three of 15 members of Cabinet are women.
Combined, nine out of 38 senior and junior ministers in the current Government are women.
Both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris are said to be ambitious to have more women in politics and will do everything they can to deliver on that.
A Fianna Fáil spokesperson said four of the seven female TDs elected in the most recent general election for the party are now either a minister or minister of state.
The spokesperson added that gender could not be the sole consideration when it came to appointments, saying that regional representation was another factor which the Taoiseach had to take into account.
A Fine Gael spokesperson said that four of its ten female TDs are either a minister or minister of state, adding the party had been at the forefront when it came to introducing gender equality legisation on candidacy.
Read more: Record number of junior ministers appointed at Cabinet
Advocacy group Women for Election said the new Government has failed to address gender balance at ministerial level.
It noted that the last government had ten women in ministerial positions while the new Government has nine.
Chair of Women for Election Aldagh McDonogh said it was "very disappointing" that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have not prioritised a gender balance among ministers of state.
"The new Government have failed their second test on gender equality by having no increase in the number of women appointed as Ministers of State.
"The Government took these decisions despite the widespread negative reaction to and concern about the reduction of women Ministers in Cabinet announced last week," Ms McDonogh said.
She added that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste had "plenty of suitably qualified women TDs" to choose from, adding that they could also have appointed ministers of state from the Seanad if they delayed appointments until the Seanad election is complete.
Worst parliamentary gender balance in Europe - Cummins
Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins said the Government has a "shameful record when it comes to giving women a seat at the top table".
She said Ireland has the "worst gender balance of parliaments in western Europe" with women making up only 25% of TDs.
"Instead of being laggards in this area, we should be leaders. Ireland would benefit hugely from having, not just more women in politics, but more women in senior and leadership positions in government," she added.
Labour's Ged Nash said the Taoiseach's "major consideration" when selecting junior ministers was "geography and not gender".
"What has this Government got against women, it's 2025 not 1955," he said.
The Labour TD said the issue of female representation is a challenge for the entire political system.
"We have a problem in our parliament in terms of the number of women who have been elected," he said.
Mr Nash said there are a "a range of different problems in terms of representation".
He added this concerns how "Ireland looks and how Ireland is in our national parliament".
"That's a challenge for for everyone and needs be addressed," he added.
Additional reporting Paul Cunningham
