Ivor Callely (Fianna Fail)

I hope contributors will take a constructive approach. It is important to note that the current arrangement for appointments to public bodies follows the practice of successive Governments and has generally worked well in the past. It should equally be recognised that many well-qualified people of great intellect, possessing unique skills and with no political affiliation have served this country well through their membership of various political bodies. The appointment of members to the boards of public bodies has traditionally been the prerogative of the Minister under whose auspices the particular agency resides and the method for such appointments is set out in the legislation governing that body. The Minister has freedom to make those appointments but he or she must also take account of any specific legislative requirements and of relevant Government policies. For example, it may be the practice that Ministers consider representations from different strands of society such as the business community, consumers, trade unions and other social partners, depending on the nature of the appointment and the function of the particular body.

My understanding is that when a Minister considers an upcoming vacancy, he or she discusses it with departmental officials and perhaps also with representatives of the body in question to identify what is required. It is similar to building a football team where the manager must decide whether what is most needed is an additional full forward, defender or midfielder and how the new addition can be integrated into the team. I am not sure whether it is overly simplistic to propose a framework whereby nominees must go through various hoops, boxes are ticked and, arising from that, a name is presented to the Minister for approval. That is not my understanding of how it is done or how the process can best be undertaken to meet the needs of public bodies.

I have great admiration for the Taoiseach in his efforts to initiate reform in this area. I understand he is chairing a Cabinet committee which is leading the process of transforming the public service in line with the recommendations of the task force on public service. In that context the Department of Finance is charged with leading the development of models of performance and governance frameworks, including the role and function of boards of State bodies, and that work is already under way. Moreover, the recent revised programme for Government provides for the introduction of a legislative basis for a more open and transparent system for appointment to public bodies. My understanding is that the legislation will outline a procedure for the publication of all vacancies likely to occur, the invitation of applications from the public and the creation from the responses received of a panel of suitable persons for consideration. The Bill will also specify the number of people to be appointed by a Minister and will facilitate the appropriate Oireachtas committee to make nominations to the panel.

We should not lose sight of the fact that when a Minister goes about making an appointment, he has information that may be what I might call "commercially sensitive" and is not appropriate to be out there. This might lead to the question as to why such a person was appointed. We must take this in the context of what I said earlier. There is a board of 15 or 20 people and as the Minister is building a team, it is appropriate that he or she has a certain amount of freedom.

It is also fitting in these changing times that we take account of the situation that prevails, especially as there is a focus on public service and there is a need to change the way we go about our business. We have all witnessed the scrutiny in recent times of public bodies and the erosion of public confidence, mainly due to the manner in which issues have been presented. Many of these issues have been presented in a very intense form, and this may influence public debate and the formalisation of one's view, but that view might not necessarily be balanced or fully informed. Due to the structure of society in the 21st century, an unfair bias can develop which is not justifiable and which can create a misleading picture. The question is how best to address this and other related issues.

I am not convinced this Bill has the right answers, but I hope it helps discussion. I believe we all want to reach the same target of what would be just, reasonable and sustainable, and what should be supported. There is a need to examine how appointments can best be made in the future, having regard to recent developments and to commitments in the programme for Government.