Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

Among the options under consideration are an extended use of Oireachtas committees in both nominating and auditing board membership; an extended role for the Public Appointments Commission, or similar bodies, in the appointments to lesser boards; and an opening up of appointments to those currently outside of the political elite. That will ensure we have a transparent system, free from political patronage, which will attract talented and capable people from across the full spectrum of society.

In the limited time available I wish to stress that what we want to ensure we have is a system based on merit, transparency, equality and diversity of skills and background. Several models exist. One model is to have a public appointments unit in the Standards in Public Office Commission or the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments. A second model is to use an Oireachtas committee together with ministerial discretion. A third option is to use the Committee of Public Accounts to regulate and oversee the making of appointments.

We should continue with the excellent discussion Deputy Varadkar has introduced to the House. Every model has advantages and disadvantages. The good work that the TASC think tank has done in this regard is worth considering in detail. The Green Party has put forward a good model in the Broadcasting Act 2009. In fairness to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, his appointments to the Dublin Transportation Authority have gone a long way towards creating a better system that is less prone to political patronage. I commend Deputy Varadkar's Bill. However, if anything, it is limited in ambition. We can and will go further than he has proposed.

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