Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of that.

Regarding the penultimate point raised by Senator McDowell, the Public Appointments Service, PAS, is a statutory body under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. It is different from the Commission for Public Service Appointments. It is established under section 11 of that Act and is widely used to facilitate the appointment of persons to the public service. It has a board and a chief executive officer, CEO, currently Ms Fiona Tierney, a woman of the highest repute. The current board is chaired by a former departmental Secretary General, Mr. Tom Moran, and includes such well known and independent persons of high repute as Dr. Eddie Molloy. I would be happy to furnish Senator McDowell with the names of the full board.