Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach the board appointments he has made recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50123/13]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach if he has made any board appointments recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9025/14]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

Four appointments have been made to the National Statistics Board in recent months. Three appointments relate to the appointment of civil servants on the board, as provided for in section 18 of the Statistics Act 1993. The fourth appointment relates to the re-appointment of the existing chairperson of the board. I have also recently made one appointment to the board of trustees of the Chester Beatty Library for a period of five years. I have not made recent appointments to the board of the National Economic and Social Development Office. Details of the appointments I have made are set in the following tables.

Details of recent board appointments made by the Taoiseach

National Statistics Board (NSB)

Board of Trustees of Chester Beatty Library

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Taoiseach for the comprehensive nature of his reply. I accept that many of the appointments he makes would fall under the Department of the Taoiseach or either be nominations by outside bodies or, as the Taoiseach said in one instance in the reply, the appointment of civil servants to a board.

As the Taoiseach knows, the proposed chairmen of State boards were to go before committees and that was something that he hailed as a revolution three years ago, although it is hardly a revolution. Will he accept that this process has become highly controlled? The only time it looked like a Government nominee might be in trouble, the Government backbenchers were whipped into line. Is the Taoiseach happy with the position that it is all a fait accompli in advance in terms of the appointments that are being made? There is much evidence that, notwithstanding the advertisement of appointments, Ministers are basically ignoring the process in reality-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is a very confined question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----ultimately to get the people they want to submit the application.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It was at a Government meeting of 12 April 2011 that decisions were made to put in place new arrangements inviting expressions of interest in vacancies on boards and agreed that Ministers would not necessarily be confined to those who made expressions of interest. It was decided that those who were being proposed for appointment as chairs would be required to make themselves available to the appropriate Oireachtas committee to discuss the approach they would take in the their role as chairperson and their views about the future contribution of the body or board in question, and that following those discussions a decision would be taken by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate, to confirm the nominee as chairperson.

I do not know of any great row that occurred at any of these committee meetings yet, although that may well happen. As the Deputy well knows from experience, it is not all that easy sometimes to get people of competence and expertise to serve on these boards. It takes a particular kind of person to do that but I think, by and large, it has been an opportunity for Members of the House at committee to quiz the proposed appointee. It may not be revolutionary but certainly it allows for an engagement that did not happen previously.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The only quick comment I would make is that I watched an episode of "Yes Minister" recently and both Hacker and Sir Humphrey were of the view that it was important to get somebody who was sound-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I did not know they were still around.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and that seems to be the predominant view of the Ministers as well.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I did not know that those guys were still around.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sure Deputy Higgins is happy with the reply. Is he?

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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What informs the Taoiseach in terms of principles in any appointments he has to make or may make? Does he, for example, regard as a matter of principle that one advertises publicly before one chooses somebody? How does he explain the fact that since the Government came to power, according to an Irish Examiner study that of 1,067 appointments by the Government, only 191 people came through the public advertisement process? How on earth can the Taoiseach expect ordinary people to think they have any chance when an advertisement for an expression of interest for appointment to boards made by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on 15 February-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is a separate matter.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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-----stated that by submitting an expression of interest, the applicant accepts that the Minister is not obliged to consider the expressions of interest offered. One can apply but the Minister does not even have to look at the application. Is that any kind of a genuine democratic way to go? Is it not the reality that the political cronyism that dominated the appointments to boards in the past is still alive and well?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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No. I do not accept that at all. Clearly, that applies in every situation. People who apply for positions or for jobs are not necessarily going to be chosen by virtue of the fact that they apply.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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No. That is not the point. The Minister does not need to consider the expression of interest.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Let us say an application is advertised for position X on board Y and 200 apply for it. The Minister is not obliged to pick anyone individually. Obviously he would have to consider the list of applications.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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He does not have to look at them.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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"Not obliged to consider" I think are the words the Deputy used. Does that state "look" or "consider"?

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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It states that the Minister is not obliged to consider the expressions of interest offered, that he is not confined to make an appointment from among those who express an interest.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask that remarks be made through the Chair.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Obviously, one would get all the applications and does one then consider them or look at them?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is a very simple question.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Words are important. The principle I would apply here is that people should be appointed to these boards who have a contribution to make, who have an understanding of what public service means and who are prepared to give of their time, experience and expertise in the interests of the board or body upon which they serve.