Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

This is a transparent and open process, and people see it. I am answerable in the House for it. This board answers to me and I need a board that I can trust and that will not play politics one way or the other. That is why I pick as many people as I possibly can who I can trust to do the job on the board. Any of these people will stand up to scrutiny, regardless of whether they are members of Fianna Fáil on any of the boards I picked.

See this speech in context