Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I do not have a problem with the appointment of Mr. Gay Byrne. I do not know much about the man aside from seeing him on television. I was impressed with his comment that if the Government was not willing to listen, he would resign. These appointments should be advertised and people should be selected for the position on the basis of their credentials and in an open and transparent manner.

There have been difficulties with, and questions about, appointments that have been made over the years. People talk about cronyism on various boards. There was a problem, for example, when Michael Smurfit was appointed head of Telecom Éireann. His credentials were that he had made money in the private sector. However, a difficulty arose regarding the sale of a site in Ballsbridge and eventually he resigned from the body. That is an example of a person who holds a particular job being put to do another job and a conflict arises. In many cases we do not know if there is a conflict of interest for the people appointed to these positions.

This position was not advertised; the appointment was just made. Mr. Byrne spoke of his experience and his age. He started driving when he was 14 years old but I do not know what experience he has chairing meetings or if he has a knowledge of finance. I am aware he had difficulties with finance over the years. Does he know how to bring leadership to this area?

Giving Ministers the power to appoint people to high positions in a non-transparent manner is open to abuse. There have been instances where people who have been appointed to boards have not attended board meetings. They are cronies of various Ministers and nobody monitors their attendance and so forth. The process should be open and transparent. As far as possible, these appointments should be open to men and women. There should be gender balance. There might have been some changes in recent years but it has been a slow process.

Mr. Byrne also spoke about the state of the country's roads, bends, blackspots and so forth and said that investment should be made there. Mr. Byrne has potential. He is well connected with the media and so forth but if he does not get the necessary respect and investment, he will go the same route as Mr. Eddie Shaw. My amendment refers to appointees having proven experience rather than wide experience. The Minister will probably describe it as pedantic but there is a gap in the provision. The credentials of the appointees and the reasons for their selection should be made known to the public.

These are important positions. Issues such as health, safety and road safety are important to the public. The House has just concluded a different debate about young people dying on our roads. It is vital that the process of making these appointments is open and that the appointments have credibility. The way it is being done at present detracts from the candidates who are put forward, which is unfortunate.

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