Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I will first deal with the gap in the re-establishment of the RTE Authority. Deputy Coveney indicated the Department allowed that to happen but the Minister allowed that and I take responsibility for it. I will explain why. As good as my Department officials are — they are very good in this area particularly — with this type of appointment it is right that it be made at a political level. Certain decisions are better made by politicians and there are very subtle balances and decisions to be tackled regarding the mix of people, character and abilities. I agree with Deputy Coveney that the process should not be on a partisan or party political basis, as this does not lead to the wider consideration of how people could work together on a board.

The reason for the gap was simple and was not down to a lack of attention to the issue or a real sense of urgency. Sometimes it can be very difficult to get people. On a number of occasions in that period I was not able to get the mix of people that I initially wanted. I had to go back to talk to a number of different people. I cannot even give details of the people who may not have wanted to participate for different reasons but there is the issue of people——

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