Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Following his declared procedure of appointing people to State boards, does the Taoiseach appreciate how that could malign many competent, talented and experienced members of State boards who may feel they were appointed on the basis of a friendship rather than merit? Does it not behove the Taoiseach to set out clearly the need for a new procedure, just as he has acknowledged we need change in our ethical legislation? We need an acknowledgment that, in the past, there have been too many close personal and political connections and we need to make it clear that appointments are based on merit alone. Is it not the case that groups that have not been allowed representation on boards like the National Consumer Agency, for example, consumer groups and older persons representative groups, may feel aggrieved that somehow they were not friendly enough to warrant appointment? We do not have a level playing pitch currently and that needs to be addressed.

We know from experience that many appointments have been made before an election, right up to election day. Some 60 appointments were made by various Ministers before the last general election — just before leaving office — including by Deputies O'Donoghue, Dermot Ahern, Noel Dempsey, O'Rourke and Fahey. Will the procedures in the Taoiseach's Department and those he proposes to lay down for Government avoid and prevent this type of board stuffing that takes place before elections? Can he explain why it happened and will it happen in the future?

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