Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is dead right as anybody who was appointed to a board in this country is subject to scrutiny from either within this House, the Lower House or anywhere else one may wish to mention in society in general. I wish to put on the record, however, that chairpersons of boards are frequently brought in before Oireachtas committees and we have absolutely no say in whether their appointment is sanctioned or not. It is purely a "hello, nice to meet you" meeting. I have stated at committees on a number of occasions that it is a waste of both the board chairperson's and the committee's time. We do not scrutinise the people who are appointed by Ministers.

I fully appreciate the role of the Minister in making appointments but this House and the Dáil has a role in overseeing the work of the Minister. Where we cannot do that, there is a flaw, and that flaw does not just exist in this Bill, but it is in the system right across the Oireachtas. A Minister makes an appointment and no matter how repugnant to the public that appointment may be, nobody other than the Minister of the day can change that.