Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, is an independent statutory agency operating under the aegis of my Department. The council analyses and reports on strategic policy matters relevant to Ireland's economic, social, environmental and sustainable development. In accordance with the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006, I have certain functions, such as appointing the members of the NESC and presenting reports to Government prior to publication. The council is funded through my Department's Vote and my Department also has governance responsibilities relating to the council. In accordance with the legislation, two officials from my Department at Secretary General and assistant secretary level currently have the position of chairperson and deputy chairperson. Since becoming Taoiseach I have made eight appointments to the NESC, five of these since February 2018. Four appointments were made on the basis of nominations from sectoral organisations, as provided for in the legislation. In addition, four independent members were appointed following advertisement of the vacancies on stateboards.ieand a selection process conducted by the Public Appointments Service. The National Economic and Social Development Office, NESDO, is the body corporate for the NESC. Section 13 of the NESDO Act 2006 provides that the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the NESC are members of NESDO.

The National Statistics Board, NSB, was established under the Statistics Act 1993 to guide the broad strategic direction of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and in particular to establish priorities for the development of official statistics in Ireland. The legislation provides that the NSB shall consist of eight members, including an assistant secretary or equivalent or higher grade from my Department and the Department of Finance, and the director general of the CSO. I made one appointment to the National Statistics Board last month following a selection process conducted by the Public Appointments Service.

All appointments to the NESC and to the NSB have been made in line with the relevant legislative provisions and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines on appointments to State boards. One principal officer in my Department has been nominated to the council of Gaisce, whose appointments are made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

See this speech in context