Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I say this because it is imperative this does not happen here. The Minister must put in place safeguards to avoid this happening. If he wants to substantiate what I am saying, he should speak to his colleague, the Minister in charge of that area. Anyone who has gone through the local government system would not have failed to notice what is going on. The system needs to be overhauled radically.

I have noticed in the public service that promotions boards are very much interview-driven. There have been examples of people who interview very well but may not have the skills to deliver on the job and responsibility they are given subsequently. Equally, there are people who would be well equipped to do the job but, because of their temperament or whatever, they do not perform well at interviews. The interview process is an important component of selecting people but there must be other ways of doing the assessment.

To some extent, an analogy could be drawn with examinations, where the discussion evolves around people studying hard for examinations and getting points on that basis. Other criteria need to be added to the melting pot to assess people's attributes and capabilities. The only sensible suggestion I can make is that the promotions board should be made subject to the inspectorate, from the point of view of the inspectorate having a specific remit to periodically examine if the promotions board is being unduly influenced by people who for one reason or another may have an interest in it. This is an area that needs to be examined.