Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

After all that I am not clear on whether the Taoiseach has changed his policy from the one he expressed during his difficulty last year. He said "I appointed them because they were friends, not because of anything they had given me". Has the Taoiseach changed his view in this regard and does he still have friends who have not yet been appointed to something?

I will frame my contribution in the interrogative, in case the Ceann Comhairle feels compelled to jump in. Is it not wrong to give the impression that the Taoiseach only makes appointments to the relatively harmless boards he has listed here? The Taoiseach is involved in and consulted on appointments to the more prestigious boards.

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