Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I did not check the record because I was not at the Deputy's parliamentary party meeting. It sums up the thinking around public appointments.

I heard people say we should wait for the report on public service appointments to come out. Let us not do that, let us make decisions for ourselves. Why wait for a report on public service appointments? Surely the Government has the confidence and ability to make decisions without waiting for yet another report. We are elected to make decisions and have the power to do so. Let us use that power and, in some small way, give back politics to the people and take a step towards giving them confidence in the structures of the Oireachtas and the State bodies there to serve them.

Many very important appointments will be made in the future, including appointments to National Asset Management Agency. A chief executive officer to the Health Service Executive is due to be appointed and the FÁS board is to be restructured which is due to be discussed tomorrow. They are very important positions and as we move from a period in which we have created cynicism and undermined confidence in politics and our State institutions, let us take this small step forward to try to revert to that position.

I commend Deputy Varadkar on bringing forward this Bill. I hope we will get some support from the Government in the near future on it.

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