Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

The process is run by the Public Appointments Service; therefore, it is independent. As I have outlined to the committee, we have an enormous transformation programme ahead of us and an enormous job of work to do. In my opening statement I mentioned that we had to continue to deliver on the twin tracks of policing and security and providing for continuous improvements to drive the transformation agenda. An important imperative for me is not only to have the top team in place but also to ensure there will be teams in place throughout the organisation that can hit the ground running in the implementation of the programme.