Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said there is a good process in places. By extension, this leads me to say that he has confidence in the Public Appointments Service and its role in filling vacancies on State boards. He was previously Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Did he allow a situation to arise where 35 vacancies on crucial State boards were left unfilled? The Road Safety Authority and Irish Rail are two organisations that come to mind. Are there other Departments that the Public Appointments Service assists in terms of filling vacancies on State boards that face the same kind of challenges that have been identified by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, that is, providing too many people to fill the vacancies?

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