Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister successfully blinded me with science and I got lost when he began to speak about category this and that. I will read the printed version of his reply afterwards. I take it that while some of the positions have been advertised, others have not. I am particularly interested in the reappointments. What interview process or scrutiny did the reappointees undergo? Several of them were in IDA Ireland. Would it not have been more satisfactory if the Government had kept its promise that all appointments would be advertised and that prospective appointees come before Oireachtas committees to be subject to scrutiny by the Houses and the public? They would then be taken out of the political arena. The Minister knows what I am talking about; he has defended some of the more controversial appointments made recently in other Departments. Particularly where overseas investors and interests are concerned, I seek an assurance that all appointments in the future will be advertised and not be made on a political basis.

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