Dr. Olive Braiden:

Sean Rainbird took up the position as director of the National Gallery of Ireland in April 2012. His appointment was the culmination of a successful global search and selection process extending over 16 months.

The National Gallery ranks among the leading galleries in the world, as is evidenced by the fact that collection exchange and partnership arrangements exist with leading galleries including the Louvre, the Prado and National Gallery of Washington. It is a resource for Irish people and one of the principal attractions for overseas visitors. In making the first appointment to the position of director in a quarter of a century, the board recognised that it needed to secure an appointment which inspired confidence in us among our international partners. It also required a person who could lead the largest refurbishment in the National Gallery's history and achieve efficiencies in a period of stringency, while inspiring the public with the approach to and the range of exhibitions. In Sean Rainbird, the board believes it has found a director of this calibre.

From the outset, the National Gallery was guided in its approach to the search and selection of a director by the advice of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The Public Appointments Service, PAS, was used to manage the selection process. The procedures overseen by PAS included the appointment of an independent person as chair of the selection board, the inclusion of a senior official from the Department on the interview panel and the clearance approval of the candidate information with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The selection process concluded in July 2011.

The sanction letter mentioned in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which authorised the terms of offer of the appointment, was issued by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in November 2011. This sanctioned the appointment of Mr. Rainbird at the fifth point of the Principal Officer salary scale. I confirm that Mr. Rainbird took up the position in April 2012 and was paid the salary sanctioned in the November 2011 letter. I also confirm that Mr. Rainbird's salary was adjusted downwards in July 2013 in line with the terms of the Haddington Road agreement. Mr. Rainbird is not in receipt of any additional salary from any source in connection with his appointment as director of the National Gallery.

The sanction letter of November 2011 provided for the payment of "reasonable vouched removal expenses" to enable Mr. Rainbird to take up the position of director. The board sought guidance from the Department on the approach to determining, setting and paying these removal expenses and was advised that the board ought itself to interpret the wording in the sanction letter. The board's determination, which was considered and approved by the board, was that a candidate taking up the position and based abroad prior to appointment should be no worse off than if the candidate had been based in Ireland.

The appointment of Mr. Rainbird is for a fixed term of five years. Given that his family resides overseas and the brevity of the contract period, Mr. Rainbird was not in a position to relocate his family to Ireland. In these circumstances, the approach to removal was that Mr. Rainbird be enabled to make 40 trips per annum to visit his family over the period of the contract. Each trip was estimated to cost €200. For administrative convenience and to avoid any possible confusion with the reimbursement of business travel, the determined amount was paid up-front to Mr. Rainbird. Provision was made for clawback in the event of Mr. Rainbird's departing prior to the end of his contract. The National Gallery is conducting an annual review to ensure there is vouching of the travel that is being undertaken in visiting his family.