Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I will not be difficult on this matter.

I acknowledge that the Minister has shown initiative in changing the way the Government selects boards. Many people are rightly cynical about the way State board appointments are made. It is far too political and based on political preferences and background. There have been many cases of preferential treatment and that should not be the case. This is an example of an important decision-making body that must be selected and appointed on the basis of the knowledge, talent and intelligence required for a broadcasting authority. The Minister is trying to take politics out of the appointment process to a certain extent.

As I said on Committee Stage, the Minister has gone about this the wrong way. The role of an Oireachtas committee is not to start selecting a panel of proposed people on whom the Minister can make a decision; rather, it is to hold the Minister to account on his decisions. The role of the Minister is to make decisions on behalf of the Government in a non-partisan political way and for that decision to be tested by an Oireachtas committee to ensure it is fair and non-partisan. That is how I see my role as an Opposition spokesperson. If I am lucky enough to be in the Minister's position I will happily take on the responsibility of making these choices and I will happily be tested to ensure I am not abusing my position as Minister and decision maker.

I suspect I will not be successful in this because of what the Minister said but I would like the Department to do the research to find the best people in the country for this role. I would then like the Minister to bring this team of people before an Oireachtas committee and allow Deputy McManus and other committee members to interview the team and discuss the role of the new broadcasting authority of Ireland. At the end of the process, which will not be the witch-hunt that some suggest, we would vote to give approval to the overall board. This is similar to what the European Parliament does when it approves the panel of Commissioners appointed every five years. It is a system that works. I do not say that we should vote against individual appointments, we should judge the Minister on his overall team and cast a vote. The Government will have a majority on the committee anyway and, therefore, there is no danger the committee would vote against the board unless the Minister makes an awful hash of it. However, it would give us the opportunity to expose those who should not be there. That would be a far braver stand by the Minister than what he proposes, even though I recognise this is a significant change. It does not make the change in a courageous way. The Minister, on behalf of the Government, will nominate a majority on the board and, in listening to what Opposition parties say, he will allow the Oireachtas committee to propose a panel from which to appoint a minority of the new authority. At no point in the process will the majority or the whole team of the authority sit before a committee and outline their suitability for the job. That is wrong. If we are to reform State appointments in broadcasting, let us do it right. The Minister will get a responsible approach from me and my party in respect of the appointments the Minister makes.

I welcomed the appointment of many of the people on the new board at RTE. They are good people and they would have passed an Oireachtas hearing system with flying colours. I ask the Minister to consider the amendment. In the absence of my proposal being successful I will play my role in the new structure proposed by the Minister, but it is not as transparent and accountable as what I am proposing.

What the Department allowed to happen after the end of 2008, in January and February 2009, whereby RTE had no board to make strategic decisions and give direction to RTE, was negligent. I understand why this legislation has been delayed and it is not the fault of the Minister, but there was no contingency plan to deal with the reality that the board of RTE was no longer in existence at the end of 2008. RTE continued to operate, arguably without a stable legal basis because it had no board for more than two months before the temporary board was appointed. We should learn lessons from that.

I ask the Minister to address these concerns and I will then speak on the less significant issues in these amendments.

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