Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Conway for raising what is a very important and topical matter and for putting such a strong case for what he believes in. I know he is a very consistent advocate for the people of Clare and for Shannon Airport, and in particular for the links between Shannon Airport and the people. The case he has made here today is one which they will appreciate and one which could be considered when we are setting out criteria for airports, namely, that boards should at least coincide with regional policy, as the Government spells it out.

As the Senator may be aware, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issued new guidelines in November 2014 on appointments to State boards with a view to introducing a more structured approach to such appointments. In accordance with those guidelines, all appointments to vacancies on State boards must satisfy the following criteria: they must be advertised openly on the State boards website operated by the Public Appointments Service, PAS; they must meet specific and detailed criteria determined by the relevant Minister necessary for the effective performance of the relevant role; and they must be processed by way of a transparent assessment system, designed and implemented by the independent Public Appointments Service to support the relevant Minister in making appointments to State boards under his remit.

It is no longer open to Ministers to populate boards on a purely ad hocbasis. It is my objective in my Department to remove, as far as possible, political influence or political patronage in the appointments to State boards because I believe political patronage has been one of the great curses of Irish political life. In accordance with this new model of appointments, it is open to anyone to register an interest in an appointment to a State board. They simply have to go online on the PAS website and they will receive an alert when vacancies on a particular board are advertised.

Since coming to office as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have, however, come to the conclusion that these guidelines do not go far enough. There are too many gaps and there are still huge opportunities under those guidelines for ministerial choice and political patronage. It would be far better for the boards, the individuals and the State if they were reduced or removed. For this reason, I reviewed the guidelines with a view to putting in place an additional internal process that would allow me to make appointments with greater confidence in the ability of the selected person to contribute effectively to a State board. I subsequently approved new internal principles to be implemented by my Department for all appointments. In essence, these new procedures provide a more thorough and professional and less political process. The Government-agreed guidelines for appointments to State boards will continue to be applied but, in my Department, an additional internal selection process will be undertaken following the receipt of a list of candidates from PAS. I have notified PAS and written to the chairs of all the boards under the aegis of my Department setting out details of this additional process.

My preference is for a more broadly-based PAS assessment panel that would include one or more representative from outside the public sector and also for a minimal number of candidates who met the specified criteria to be submitted to me for consideration. Interviews, which were inexplicably missing from the 2014 process, are an essential part of the new process in my Department. As far as possible, I wish to remove my own discretion from the appointments process.

In regard to Shannon Group specifically, I acknowledge the importance of the local authorities in the region - that is, Clare County Council, Limerick County Council, Tipperary County Council, Galway County Council and Galway City Council - working with the company to ensure its success and that of the region. The success of Shannon Group will be enhanced by the support and commitment of all stakeholders in the region working together for their mutual benefit. It is open to representatives of Clare County Council or, indeed, any of the local authorities in the region, to register their interest with PAS. There is currently one vacancy on the board of Shannon Group and I hope this will be advertised on the PAS website shortly.