Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. However, it did not answer my question which was whether his Department has appointed any persons with experience in the private sector to senior positions. I take it from his contribution that the answer is "no" in that he explained the procedure and how open it is but did not indicate the outcome. As I understand it, across all Departments, of 81 positions at the upper level, only one has been filled by a person from outside. That person was previously employed in the public service but had temporarily departed.

Does the Minister of State not agree that his Department, which deals exclusively with the development of enterprise, ought to include among its senior management team somebody with experience in that field? Since the Department of Finance has recently engaged a person of relevant experience, namely, Mr. Jim O'Leary, will the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation consider employing a person with experience in the private sector in order to bolster its management team? The Department is clearly not delivering on its own agenda.

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