Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I move amendment No. 39:

In page 9, lines 30 to 41, to delete subsections (3) and (4) and substitute the following:“(3) Of the ordinary members of An tSeirbhís (other than the person to whom subsection (8) of section 23 applies)—

(a) 7 shall be appointed by the Minister, following consultation by him or her with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Minister for Social Protection, from among persons who in the opinion of the Minister have experience of, and expertise in relation to—

(i) matters connected with the functions of An tSeirbhís, or
(ii) matters connected with finance, trade, commerce, corporate governance or public administration, and

(b) 2 shall be appointed by the Minister, following their nomination by the Minister for Social Protection from among persons who in the opinion of the Minister have experience of, and expertise in relation to, the matters referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a).”.

The purpose of the amendment is quite simple - to increase the number of nominations to the board of SOLAS by the Minister for Social Protection from one to two. It also provides that the eligibility criteria that apply to the other members of the board will apply to the nominations of the Minister for Social Protection. As there should be, there will be a strong relationship between SOLAS and the Department of Social Protection in the context of the provision of further education and training to support the activation of the unemployed through the Intreo network of offices throughout the country. Activation of the unemployed is a very high priority for the Government and it is, therefore, considered appropriate that the Minister for Social Protection should be in a position to nominate two members of the board. The amendment is simply to facilitate that.