Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy knows, it is the intention of the Government to introduce a system under which, for future appointments, the appointee will appear before the relevant committee of the Dáil to present his or her credentials and proposals for the committee, agency or board concerned. That is good for the appointees themselves; if they feel they can add something to a board or agency, they will have the opportunity to come before an Oireachtas committee to explain their vision for the position for which they wish to apply.

I raised with the former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, the fact that there should not be a rush to make appointments during the hiatus between one Government and the next, as happened in this case. Obviously Governments have done this over the years, but it seems to have gone to extraordinary lengths on the last few occasions.

See this speech in context