Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The reason I will not appoint the first CEO relates to bringing some clarity to the new organisation. Two boards and two agencies are coming together as one. Deputy Dooley raised this with me in the Dáil. I am doing exactly what Senators Bradford and Darragh O'Brien want me to do. I do not want to interfere with the process. I could appoint the first CEO. It is provided for in the Bill but I do not want to do that. I will appoint somebody in a temporary capacity for one year and get the chairman and board up and running. The board will appoint the CEO, as it is normal practice for agencies to run a competition. I fully expect that the board of Sport Ireland will follow the normal practice and run a competition. The first CEO will be an employee of Sport Ireland and not a board member. The second CEO will be appointed by the board and the first CEO will have no role in the appointment. The chairman of the board will make that appointment and not me and it will go through normal practices. The reason I did that was because I did not want Senators, like Senators Bradford and Darragh O'Brien, accusing me of appointing a chief executive and politicising it. I am not doing that.