Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

With all due respect, it is a bit rich to make such comments. The Government has only been in place for the past six weeks, yet a great deal of progress has been made. We have signalled our intention to open up the question of appointments to State boards and to bring transparency to the area. I have outlined the situation that pertains to the 23 members of the board in question, in that only five members will be appointed by the Minister. It is not an entirely straightforward matter to bring appointments before an Oireachtas committee, as our committees are not yet in place.

We are at an early stage in the lifetime of the Government and we have signalled how we intend to proceed, that is, shining a light on public appointments. The Minister stated that, where the five appointments that fall to him are concerned, he is considering how best to open the process up, including whether to advertise those positions on the website or in the national media or whether the process should be given over to the Public Appointments Service, PAS. There is clarity about how he intends to proceed. He wants to make it as open as possible and, if Deputies give him just a little opportunity, he will revert with his consideration of how best to proceed.

The majority of the board's members are appointed by the relevant professional bodies. Is Deputy Ó Caoláin suggesting that they all appear before an Oireachtas committee? What would the logistical implications of doing so be? It is not a straightforward matter. It has always been the tradition that, where professional bodies nominate or elect their representatives, those nominees will be accepted by the Minister. The Deputy is proposing something entirely different, a complete break with procedures, by suggesting an opening up of those nominations. It is appropriate that the Minister should accept the professional bodies' nominations. He intends to open up the question of the five remaining public interest members. He is examining the issue and will announce how he intends to proceed shortly.

See this speech in context