Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is a great one to throw back at Deputy Gilmore, given his indignation on this. Sontes in glass houses come to mind when the Deputy raises questions like this. However, it is important for the Deputy to make his point. It is a fair point. I am of the view that in appointments to State boards one must appoint people with the required skill sets and who are capable of making a good contribution to the boards. That is the position in the majority of cases. We need to be careful to ensure that we do not find ourselves in the situation whereby people who would otherwise serve on boards -these are often non-executive positions - shy away from doing so because they are the centre of political controversy, which can be legitimate and valid in many cases usually on a management basis. While boards are often justifiably brought into the equation they should not always be brought into it. We should look at the performance of each board and, if there is any suggestion of incompetence in terms of the operation of the board, people can bring the matter to the attention of the House which will debate the origin of the problem.

During my time as Minister and Taoiseach - I am not as Taoiseach involved in as many boards as would have been the case when I was a line Minister - I have found that, if not without exception, in the vast majority of cases those who were appointed to State boards took up such positions out of a sense of public service, diligence in their work or wanting to make a contribution. Despite the cynical view to the contrary, I do not regard political affiliation as being the axiomatic criterion for appointment to State boards. I reappointed many who were appointed to boards by predecessors from other political parties, based on their performance, competence and contribution. The record will show that.

As regards the particular point made by the Deputy, if it is criticism that is being made of us then fair enough it is a valid criticism to make. It is an issue that can and should be addressed in a non-contentious manner in the future, if not already addressed by us.

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