Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No. Senator Brennan is his party's spokesperson in this area and I have a particular interest in the finance side. The problem is that the interim chief executive is a ministerial appointment and not by public interview. It is not open to anyone to make an application to take over the role of chief executive of Sport Ireland because it is in the gift of the Minister. While I appreciate and fully agree with the answer that the salary is for the role and not the person, because the Minister of State said it is an amalgamation of two roles and an enhanced responsibility, is the salary now more than it was previously? If the Minister of State does not have the amount, his officials or the Department should know. Is it more? If it is an increase, what is the percentage increase? Many people appear before the committees where salary levels are discussed. With a public appointment, I do not see why we cannot be told what the amount is and whether it is more than that for the current chief executives' roles in both of the bodies. If it is, what is the the level of that increase?