Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Tóibín can disagree with my approach, but what is important is to bring about an appointment process to State boards that actually sets out the skill sets required, because these are very important public investments on which a considerable amount of taxpayers' money is spent and in which many people work. We are not talking about trivial point scoring. We are talking about important boards.

I am explaining this to Deputy McDonald. I want to see an appointment process that sets out for each Department the boards under its remit, the skill sets required in regard to those boards and the diversity required of different boards, whether that involves regional, gender or other diversity. I make no apology for saying that has been my approach. We have to consider this in terms of the reform process. In my view, that is the way to go, and I am happy to say that the Taoiseach has agreed. The memo was agreed at Cabinet and published shortly thereafter by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Howlin. It will mark a new stage regarding clarity, appropriateness and transparency in regard to the public and citizens in respect of board appointments.

Where there have been public board appointments in my Department, I have always used the public appointments system. The Department does not have a huge number of boards so there are very few such appointments. It is a system which, while not perfect, will work well in drawing out the best people for appointments to boards. All parties, particularly Sinn Féin, have shown a heavy preference, for reasons they have always explained, for appointing their own supporters to boards where they had an opportunity to do so. I have a full list-----

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