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

The issue of civil servants on State boards has not been resolved in the context of the national children's hospital. The public servant on that board had an obligation to report to his line Minister and the Minister for Health. I do not think that has been adequately responded to by Government. The circular is clear, as is the opinion of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

When the previous Taoiseach announced various procedures for making appointments to State boards and changed them a number of years ago, he said they would be reviewed over time to check whether they were delivering better boards. The early evidence was that the new procedures were confirming that people appointed previously were overwhelmingly being viewed as suitable for reappointment, that the range of people applying for appointments was broad, but that it was uncertain whether there was any improvement in the functioning of boards. Has the Taoiseach commissioned any independent research on the operation of State boards and whether they are actively performing the role of supervising the strategic direction of State agencies and protecting the public interest? This is of particular concern in the context of the national children's hospital because, last August, the Government reappointed in full the board of the national children's hospital, and little more than six months ago, the Government expressed full confidence in the board's work. This was at a point when the Government was fully aware of the outcome of the tendering procedure overseen by the board. Then suddenly the Taoiseach and Minister for Health began calling for heads to roll.

Indeed, the chairperson was offered up as a sacrifice to stop more politically sensitive accountability. Is the Taoiseach satisfied with the procedure by which he and the Government reappointed the children's hospital board last year? What review did it conduct of their work before nodding through the reappointment of the chairperson and the board?

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