Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When Fine Gael was in opposition, it and the Labour Party were quite animated about the issue of cronyism and corruption as it pertained to Fianna Fáil and State boards. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport went so far as to publish a Bill proposing publication of the qualifications of each candidate nominated for a role on a State board, which was not a bad proposition.

Of the people appointed by the Government in the past two years, more than 60 have had links to Fine Gael or the Labour Party. The Taoiseach spoke about the new procedures for appointments that have been put in place, but Ministers have essentially ignored applications through the public advertisement system established by the Government. I will provide some examples. Only 15 of the 64 people appointed to State boards under the auspices of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation applied through the public advertisement system. Fifteen out of 64 is a very bad record. Of the 40 who applied for positions on the board of HIQA, only one was appointed. The Minister for Health appointed 52 people to State boards recently, including a Fine Gael councillor who was appointed to the board of St. James's Hospital and a former Fine Gael programme manager who was appointed to the board of HIQA. The Minister for Education and Skills has appointed just five of the 190 members of the public who applied to sit on the three education boards under his remit. I refer to Léargas, Quality and Qualifications Ireland and the Higher Education Authority. None of the 49 who applied through the Public Appointments Service to sit on the board of Léargas was deemed appropriate to be appointed.

See this speech in context