Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

——tells the Prime Minister exactly where he is going wrong, publically and in no uncertain terms. To prevent a recurrence of this problem, can we have an audit of all Government appointee qualifications, given that the Civil Service Commission did not have a role in this particular appointment? Are any other applicants interested in the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey's new post? It would be interesting to find out whether that is the case and whether there will be interviews. Has the Taoiseach learned nothing from this fiasco, which results from poor vetting and no competition? The Government proposes to appoint someone in another highly-paid position, again without a competition. Can the Government state whether anything has been learned from this fiasco?

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