Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I totally accept her bona fides and good intentions. As she indicated here tonight, it is important now to move forward.

The Government plans she announced last week that all appointments to State boards should be made through the public appointments process is welcome, and we all agree with it. Last night she laid out that she instructed her management team in the Department to immediately set about implementing the new system for board appointments. I note it is a system she intends to adhere to strictly.

I welcome the Minister's comprehensive speech here this evening. I welcome the fact that she outlined that her priority is to advance the policy areas she outlined in her speech, the commemorations, the cultural strategy, progressing the arts in education charter and arts in the community.

As I referred to already, the revised model for ministerial appointments to State boards, requiring that State board vacancies must be advertised openly by the Public Appointments Service, is welcome. Advertisements will set out all relevant experience, educational and other qualifications required, as well as particular attributes considered necessary. Appointments will be processed in a transparent way by PAS. The new requirements will provide us with a more credible, transparent and robust appointments model which will ensure that boards are populated by high calibre personnel required to successfully perform their challenging and demanding mandates.

As part of the Government's reform plans, the Minister intends to reduce the size of a number of boards, under her Department, on a permanent basis. Legislation, however, is needed to give statutory effect to this change. It is expected that this legislation will be published in late 2015. The heads of the Bill are currently with the relevant committee for its consideration.

I accept the Minister's priorities. She should be allowed to get on with her work. She wants to ensure that we have a 1916 commemoration that is inclusive, respectful and appropriate. She will consult widely on the best way to demonstrate this hugely significant event in our history.

I accept that she wants to make the arts more accessible and build on the important work done within her Department and the Department of Education and Skills, in terms of implementing the arts in education charter. She also wants to continue to protect and support heritage by working with local heritage groups. Under the build heritage jobs leverage scheme 2014, 578 protected buildings and historic structures across the State are on target for completion in 2014. The Government invested €5 million which has unlocked €15 million in private funding.

The Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is a breath of fresh air and I say "ar aghaidh leis an obair".