Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The job was openly advertised; that is not in dispute. In my initial reply, I outlined the various platforms that were used for the open advertisement of this particular post. Regarding the background of the applicants, while it is true that 20 of the 23 applicants described themselves as being Irish nationals, that is not to say that they did not necessarily have international experience. Three of the 23 applicants identified themselves as being international. As the Deputy knows, a short-listing process was carried out. Three candidates were shortlisted for final consideration under the TLAC process. As she knows, the members of TLAC are independent and they guard their independence closely. They conducted their job professionally and presented the Minister for Health with the recommendation of one name, which in this case was Mr. Robert Watt.

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