Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I do not believe there should be Oireachtas hearings for the casual filling of vacancies on boards that might not rank in the top three in the order of priority. The chairperson has the fundamental function of chairing the relevant body or agency and to steer it in the direction, in so far as the committee is concerned, of the relevant element of Government policy. I am anxious to see how this will operate in practice. I would like to see the first two dozen cases go before the relevant committees, see how they get on, the reaction and how the process works. It is a change that does not transfer absolute authority to the committees but there is a clear inference that somebody appearing before a committee, following nomination by a Minister or the Cabinet to be a chairperson of an organisation or agency, had better have the qualifications, competence and experience to chair the board of the organisation or agency in question.

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