Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. Maybe at some point in the future when time permits and we are less busy with other matters, we can look at the difference the new Public Appointments Service process is making for the appointment of directors to companies. It is a matter I was dealing with only today. As such, I can assure the Senator that because of that process, the variety of candidates coming through and their huge diversity of experience is offering the shareholder, whether me or the local authority, the ability to appoint a breadth of people that will really benefit these boards.

The appointments process that will happen when the Bill is, hopefully, implemented, will have to follow the process launched by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin. The very reason I am so confident that the quality of boards will meet the need the Senator describes for better diversity and expertise is that we now have a better process in place to deal with these matters. The simple reason that I cannot make the particular appointments is that I will no longer be the shareholder in those ports. It will be the chief executive who is the shareholder, but that person will need to follow the new process I have just described.