Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Taoiseach is implying I made statements I did not make. I never claimed that somebody would be disbarred from appointment to a State body because the person happened to know the Minister or the Taoiseach of the day. I was seeking to explore whether the appointments would be made on the basis of merit rather than just purely on the "who you know" principle. I am very glad to hear the Taoiseach stating that the principle he intends to apply in appointments he will make and, presumably, those of his Ministers, will be on the basis of ability, suitability and skills which can be brought to the job. I look forward to assessing all future appointments on the basis of those criteria.

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