Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Innovation if his Department has employed any persons with experience in private sector management to senior positions within the management of the Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36473/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004, recruitment to the Civil Service, including my Department, is a matter for the public appointments service, PAS, which is required to ensure that standards of probity, merit, equity and fairness are followed in the recruitment, assessment and selection of persons for appointment. It is for the PAS to determine the qualifications and experience required for appointment to general service positions up to and including principal officer level.

I understand the "senior positions" referred to by the Deputy to comprise the grades of Secretary General, assistant secretary and principal officer. All promotions to principal officer in my Department are made on merit, either by way of internal competition or by way of competitions held by the PAS, some of which are open to non-civil servants. Since 2004, in accordance with instructions issued by the Department of Finance, all vacancies that would normally be filled by way of PAS competitions have been filled by the redeployment of staff who were surplus to requirements in Dublin due to decentralisation.

Appointments to Secretary General and assistant secretary positions are made by the Government and the relevant Minister, respectively, following - in most cases since early 2007 - an open competition organised by the PAS. The latter holds a preliminary competition and selects a shortlist of candidates for interview by the top-level appointments committee. It is for the committee to determine the qualifications and experience required for appointment to these positions.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. However, it did not answer my question which was whether his Department has appointed any persons with experience in the private sector to senior positions. I take it from his contribution that the answer is "no" in that he explained the procedure and how open it is but did not indicate the outcome. As I understand it, across all Departments, of 81 positions at the upper level, only one has been filled by a person from outside. That person was previously employed in the public service but had temporarily departed.

Does the Minister of State not agree that his Department, which deals exclusively with the development of enterprise, ought to include among its senior management team somebody with experience in that field? Since the Department of Finance has recently engaged a person of relevant experience, namely, Mr. Jim O'Leary, will the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation consider employing a person with experience in the private sector in order to bolster its management team? The Department is clearly not delivering on its own agenda.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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No other Department has a greater range of daily interaction with the private sector than our Department. We tap into private sector experience across all our State boards-----

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is getting good at avoiding questions. He is learning from his master.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy Bruton must allow the Minister of State to reply.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has used the experience of the private sector extensively in all our operations and consults extensively with private sector experts on a daily basis. The position of employing private sector people for the sake of it represents something of a waste of time. We use their knowledge and experience for specific responses to specific situations.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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That is not what we are saying. May I ask the Minister of State a question?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Yes, but you might wait to be called.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Are we being told that there are absolutely no people with private sector experience who are fit persons to hold a senior position in the public service? That is what the Minister of State is implying. Surely his own Department, which deals day to day with enterprise, ought to be open to bringing some of those people and those skills in-house. Can the Department not employ somebody as the Department of Finance has done or is the latter saying that different rules apply to other Departments?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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All senior appointments, from assistant secretary up, are made by open recruitment. Over the summer the Government reconstituted the top level appointments committee, TLAC, to include more private sector people than were previously on it and to open up the opportunities.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Is that more than zero?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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No, the TLAC has always had private sector involvement. That goes back to the Deputy's Party's last time in Government so he should be aware of it from then.