Shane Ross (Independent)

——and appointments are made from it. An important point was touched on articulately by Senator White. I apologise to no one for my criticism of the private sector — it is disgraceful in its appointments of directorships. What Senator White said is correct. Positions of power, particularly in the banks, CRH and other public companies are held by a small club of people in the best-paid positions. They swap them around among one another in a way that is completely unfair, to the small shareholders at least. No one will disagree with that, but it is dishonest to come out with that argument on this side of the House as though it were relevant to this debate, which is about appointments to semi-State bodies and agencies. No one has answered the question I asked about Dublin City University, which was the only one to which I wanted a reply from the Minister. How come the one political appointment that was made there was in breach of the legislation, which said that the provost should have been consulted? He was not, and a political person attached to the Minister for Education and Science, whom I know I am not allowed to name, was shoved down the throat of Dublin City University in the absence of the consultation specified in the Bill.