Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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It is separate. I did not know that.

The Minister of State mentioned that all board appointments are made through the Public Appointments Service and that the Controls Committee operates independent of the board. I would be sceptical of that because he also said that its members should be appointed by the Minister of the day. Perhaps it should be appointed by the Minister of the day after being suggested by an independent body, because it leaves a sense of cronyism if not dealt with in a transparent way. I understand it has to be appointed by the Minister but it should not be a political appointment. I know very credible people in the sector and in the industry who are suspicious of any appointment made by the Minister that does not come from an independent body. I will leave it at that as others want to contribute. I thank the Minister of State for his presentation.