Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ms Callanan is welcome to the committee. I thank her for her deliberation and for sharing her experience. She is eminently qualified for the role and I wish her every success in it. She outlined her qualifications, which are of the highest standard, and a little about the board, the independence of the board and the importance of that. It is a small board and it would be useful if there was a brief outline of its members, primarily because it is a small board.

I am involved in a number of boards in different areas. It is important for a board and, in particular, its chair to consider inviting an organisation such as the Institute of Directors to carry out some due diligence of the board, perhaps once every three years. The board can then establish whether it is fit for purpose and what its strengths and weaknesses in governance are. It supports the integrity of the board and the chairperson. I offer that suggestion as a thought because I found it useful in other areas, in private companies as well as in some public organisations.

Ms Callanan mentioned the EMSA. My experience in this overall area is in aviation and the air accident investigation unit, AAIU. Will Ms Callanan outline her thoughts on the AAIU and whether the board has any interaction or engagement with it? The AAIU is extremely professional. We are all on the same island and accidents must be dealt with. The AAIU has processes and systems, and the MCIB and the AAIU might learn from each other through sharing methodology for investigating accidents.

Are the board's professional investigators employees, contractors or a mixture of both? Seven reports were published in 2018. What happened to them and what were their follow-up actions?