Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

We have had an extremely good debate on appointments, which I welcome. Having served on a health board for many years, I met many people with ability on that board who came from the different political parties and from none. I am not one of those who believes, when a board is being appointed, that one needs to be a member of the Labour Party, Sinn Féin or any other party to be appointed. The one issue for me is whether the person has the ability to serve. One should not be debarred by association.

If a person wants to serve on a board of a public body, that person is giving his or her time, experience and ability to do so. While such people receive a stipend, it would not in many cases pay them for attendance. To take a councillor who must leave his farm to sit on a board or attend a committee in one of the prisons, he must get somebody to look after his work while he is away. People who are prepared to give of their time and ability to serve on boards and who are well equipped to do so should not be prevented from doing so.

Of course, Fianna Fáil has been in power more than most and, therefore, many people have an association with Fianna Fáil. That should not debar them, however. The same applies to the Labour Party and Fine Gael. Regardless of who one was, all parties were represented on the health boards, including Sinn Féin, the chemists and various others, but they were all relevant people. That is the important point - to have a relevant, coherent board that serves the public well.

During this debate, many speakers have, wrongly, dismissed the service that has been given to this country by many good, decent, genuine people. It was said that the system in place is corrupt. I do not believe it is corrupt. I have not seen any corruption on any board on which I served.

To be fair to Senator Ross, he has given this House great service in exposing what happened on one particular board. I believe the board in that case was totally wrong and certainly did not carry out its duties by making inquiries monthly as to its expenditure. This first came to my notice when I saw that the representatives on that board, who were from the social partners, were booking hotels such as the Mount Juliet, and that a group such as Threshold was booking five-star hotels in which to hold its meetings. I worry when such things happen.

If Sinn Féin was in power, it would obviously have like-minded people nominated to various boards. That is life. That is democracy. One should not be debarred from any organisation or body because of religious or political persuasion. The Minister has the right to make appointments. We saw what happened when we gave away ministerial power to the HSE, for example, in that public representatives now have no say. Why we would want to get rid of the Minister's ability to make appointments is beyond me. That is a democratic right of the Minister. I do not agree with and will not support the Bill.