Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

What message does that send out to other people of status, integrity and ability who might want to assist the State by giving of their experience to a State board? If they bring issues of concern to the Minister involved, they may be asked to resign. That is not the message we want to send out.

I do not want to go through the list of our absent friends from the House, but it is incredible and was done strictly on the basis of party political membership or friendship, as distinct from any ability the people involved might have. The Government must address this. Fine Gael proposed that for people to be appointed to the more important State boards, they should appear before the relevant Oireachtas committee to indicate their ability to fill the post.

Fine Gael will introduce this proposition in Government so that people can state in public their qualifications and what it is they have to offer State boards as distinct from how the Taoiseach's predecessor did it, appointing people on the basis of friendship. I am concerned by the message sent out when a chairman of a board who brings to the notice of his Minister issues of serious concern about value for money, waste and so on is asked to resign as a consequence.

See this speech in context