Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Originally, everything was about best international practice but best international practice means one holds a competition to select a person for the head of a unit which is totally divorced from the political realm.

This appointment was not divorced from the political realm. The establishment of this unit did not originate from the civil servants; it originated from the Taoiseach. It was a political idea designed to create a political operation and machine for his benefit and for the Government's benefit.

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