Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The role of the National Economic and Social Council is to analyse and report to the Taoiseach on strategic issues in respect of the State's economic, social, environmental and sustainable development. It is an important body bringing together representatives from across society, including business and employers' organisations, trade unions, farming bodies and the community and voluntary sector. The Taoiseach last appointed the council in 2011 and its five-year term has now expired. The Taoiseach indicated some months ago that his Department was assessing the arrangements around the appointment of a new council, its structure and its future role and work programme. Can the Taoiseach update the Dáil on the current work of his Department in this regard?

The issue of Brexit and its numerous implications for our economy and communities are issues on which the NESC should report regularly. Given our ageing population and the economic and social implications of the crisis in health provision, housing and infrastructure, there is a lot for the NESC to be focusing on. The Government seems to be taking an unusually long time to decide whom it should appoint and what it should do with the NESC. In this respect the Government also appears to be having similar problems in respect of nine semi-State bodies which, according to recent reports, have chief executives who have remained in their posts beyond their seven-year term limit. The 2016 code of practice for the governance of State bodies states that it is the normal policy to limit semi-State chief executives to single-term contracts of between five and seven years. Is the failure to stick with this code of practice evidence of the paralysis that has gripped Government since last year's election?

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