Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The issue of appointments is a bugbear of mine and I know Senator Craughwell will agree with me. In this case, it is about Members of the Oireachtas and Members of the European Parliament. If a member of a local authority is considered for an appointment, he or she should not be overlooked just because he or she is a member of a local authority. In other legislation, we have precluded members of local authorities from certain positions. I very much welcome, if I am correct, that they are not precluded in this legislation. I understand Members of the Oireachtas and Members of the European Parliament are precluded, but I hope that we can allow members of local authorities who have expertise or experience in aviation, or in aspects of the aviation industry, to become part of its development. That is why it is important we welcome the appointment of iar-Sheanadóir Pádraig Ó Céidigh as chair of the Shannon board. It was a great appointment and the Minister of State is to be congratulated on it because this is a man who has the practical lived experience and was a Member of this House. He will bring his ability as an entrepreneur, along with his ability as a parliamentarian, to the position he now holds. That was a tremendous appointment and I wholeheartedly congratulate the Minister of State on that.

I am straying off-kilter a little, but we need to stop precluding members of local authorities, or parliamentarians, from becoming members of boards. Many of us in this House, of all political parties and none, have a major depth of knowledge and experience in a myriad of areas, but because we are parliamentarians or local authority members there is, in some cases, an attitude of "thou shalt not be appointed", which is wrong. I understand where it is coming from but I will put on record that we need to stop looking at practising politicians as being just "the politician". We come, in all of our individuality and totality, with a variety of qualifications and interests that should not mean we are precluded from appointment to boards or to different areas of expertise.