Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kelly for raising this issue and for giving me an opportunity to respond and address the matter. I know he has a great deal of interest in these issues. I am sure he understands the complex nature of the system of making appointments to State boards and the extraordinary responsibility it entails. It is not a matter that can be treated in a trivial way by any Member of this House or any Minister. The system is in constant need of improvement. Indeed, the Government of which Deputy Kelly was a member attempted to improve the system in November 2014 by issuing new guidelines to address the issue of State boards.

Since my appointment as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have made a number of reappointments but have not yet made any appointments to State boards from the Public Appointments Service process. To date, I have made 16 reappointments, with three further reappointments of employee representatives to the CIE subsidiary companies with effect from 1 December 2016. As Minister, I do not necessarily have to fill all of the vacancies on each board. I am currently considering the size of the boards under my remit and the need or otherwise to fill each vacancy. My view is that some of the boards are unnecessarily large for the size of the State body in question. I am reviewing this within the flexibility of the underlying statutory provisions. It is very important to review not just the individual membership of boards, but also the boards themselves by comparing them with the boards of companies of a similar size. We must consider whether some of them are top-heavy, whether some appointments have been made for the wrong reasons and whether it is necessary for some boards to have double-digit numbers of directors when that does not do the Exchequer or, necessarily, the company any favours.

I have stated in the past my view that, in seeking a process for the appointment of directors to State boards, I want to do so in a manner that gives me the greatest certainty that the best appointments are being made. The current guidelines for appointments to State boards do not go far enough, in my view. To answer the Deputy's question, I have asked my Department to review the guidelines with a view to putting in additional internal processes that would allow me to make appointments with greater confidence in the ability of the selected person to contribute effectively to a State board. I do not feel that appointing someone on the basis of their curriculum vitae alone is acceptable. There must be a more satisfactory way of doing these things, and I am trying to devise one that supplements the current procedures.

Together with the Secretary General of my Department, other officials and other people, I am currently considering means by which the appointment processes within my Department can be enhanced to ensure, in so far as is possible, this can be achieved. The Deputy can expect news on this front very shortly. I do not want in any way to stray from the current guidelines at present, although the new ones are on the way. I wish to improve the guidelines and set in place a process whereby we can be more certain we are getting people who are qualified for the positions. Together with the Secretary General of my Department, I am considering means by which this can be done. I look forward to the outcome of the review of the guidelines on appointments to State boards being carried out by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. I believe the report is currently with the Minister for his consideration.

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