Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 18, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following:

"8.—(1) The members of the Authority shall be 9 in number, of which—

(a) 5 of them shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister, and

(b) subject to subsection (2), 4 of them shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister.

(2) Where an appointment is to be made by the Government under subsection (1)(b) or under that paragraph arising from a vacancy referred to in section 10(11)—

(a) the Minister shall inform the Joint Oireachtas Committee of the proposed appointment,

(b) the Minister in respect of an appointment under subsection (1)(a) shall provide a statement to the Joint Oireachtas Committee indicating the relevant experience and expertise of the persons or person nominated by the Minister for appointment or appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister, and such other matters as the Minister considers relevant,

(c) the Joint Oireachtas Committee shall within the period of 90 days of being so informed, advise the Minister of the names of the persons or name of the person it proposes that the Minister should nominate under subsection (1)(b) giving reasons, such as relevant experience and expertise, in relation to the proposed named persons or person,

(d) the Minister shall have regard to the advice and may accept the proposed named persons or some of them or the named person or decide to nominate as he or she sees fit other persons or another person, and

(e) inform the Joint Oireachtas Committee of his or her decision.".

I have tabled amendments Nos. 8 and 73 for clarity in respect of the new process of board appointments that is proposed under this legislation. Amendment No. 8 relates to the board of the BAI while amendment No. 73 relates to the boards of RTE and TG4. Subsections (1) and (2) of sections 8 and 81 are being changed to make the process to be followed by the Minister in respect of the appointments of board members, where the Oireachtas joint committee has a role, more transparent. The amendment provides that the Minister will inform the Oireachtas joint committee of the nominees by him or her, together with details as to the relevant experience and expertise. This will allow the Oireachtas joint committee to consider the type of skills mix and expertise of the proposed nominees it wishes to put to the Minister and enable it to decide on nominees which it considers would balance and complement the overall team. While the requirement for the Minister to have regard to the advice of the Oireachtas joint committee stands, there may be instances in which the Minister cannot accept the proposed nominees and this amendment brings drafting clarity to that possibility, as advised by Parliamentary Counsel, allowing the Minister to nominate other persons as he or she sees fit. The Minister is required to inform the Oireachtas joint committee of any decision relating to such appointments.

Amendments Nos. 14, 15, 74 and 75, which I have tabled, are consequential amendments that arise from the recasting of the relevant subsections. Amendments Nos. 19 and 79 are minor amendments that are proposed for clarity, while amendment No. 18 is a minor drafting amendment consequent on an amendment from Deputy McManus that was accepted on Committee Stage. I propose in amendment No. 78 to make the process regarding board appointments to the public service broadcasters consistent with the BAI process with regard to the publication of details of board membership and terms of office in the Iris Oifigiúil.

Turning to the Opposition amendments, I will begin with amendments Nos. 9 and 13 tabled by Deputy Coveney, which deal with procedures in respect of appointment of board members of the BAI. Amendment No. 9 proposes that rather than the model contained in the Bill, whereby five members are nominated by the Minister and four members are nominated by the advice of the Oireachtas joint committee, all members are nominated by the Minister but are then subject to an approval hearing and vote at the Oireachtas joint committee. Members dealt with this issue at length on Committee Stage and I retain my preference for the approach set out in the Bill. As I have explained previously, it allows the Oireachtas joint committee the opportunity to propose board members and obviously its own internal discussions will ensure the suitability of such members, as well as leaving the Minister of the day to select five members.

As I noted previously, it is particularly appropriate that there be balance and transparency in respect of board appointments, especially for boards dealing with broadcasting matters in which the organisations involved play key roles in ensuring media pluralism reflecting the democratic nature of the State. I believe my amendments already discussed bring further clarity to the process and commit the Minister and members of the Oireachtas joint committee to a genuine and purposeful discussion. This proposed approach requires genuine participation between the Minister and the Oireachtas joint committee in the selection of candidates, rather than one that could lead to confrontation. For that reason, I cannot accept amendment No. 9 and, therefore, neither can I accept amendment No. 13, which is an associated follow-on from it.

Amendments Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, tabled by Deputy Coveney, propose representation from the disability sector and consideration of industry, technical and consumer affairs experience in the nomination of BAI board members. Amendment No. 16 tabled by Deputy McManus proposes that the BAI should include members with experience in certain specific areas. Amendment No. 76 proposes the same for public service broadcasters. In general, these areas of expertise are already identified in sections 9(1) and 82(1), among many others, as areas in which board appointees may be experienced. In general, I am opposed to sectoral appointees to boards. While board members should be generally qualified for board membership and should be from diverse backgrounds, I do not believe they should perceive their role on boards as a narrow representation of one group. Therefore, I cannot accept amendments Nos. 16 and 76 or amendments Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive.

Amendments Nos. 17 and 77 tabled by Deputy McManus deal with the issue of whether it is appropriate for board members to serve more than two terms. The legislation currently intends that in the case of both the broadcasting authority of Ireland and public service broadcasters, no one will serve more than two terms. Given that the proposed maximum term for each appointment is five years, this potentially will allow board members to serve for up to ten years. That is a sufficient period and I believe that changes in board membership should occur periodically. As a decade appears to me to constitute a reasonable period, I cannot accept amendments Nos. 17 and 77.

Amendment No. 21 proposes to remove section 19(2), which is a subsection that restricts the chief executive officer from discussing the merits of Government policy while attending the Committee of Public Accounts. I cannot accept this amendment as the restriction on comments as to the merits of Government policies is a standard one in respect of the Committee of Public Accounts, the purpose of which is to focus on reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General and the use of resources and expenditure generally and on financial matters, and not on other issues. I should point out that no such restriction is proposed in the legislation in respect of section 20, which deals with attendance and accountability pertaining to other Oireachtas committees.

See this speech in context