Seanad debates
Tuesday, 3 December 2002
Adjournment Matters. - Appointments to State Boards.
Shane Ross (Independent)
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Will the Minister for Transport outline the criteria used in appointing members of State boards under his aegis, particularly Aer Rianta? The reasons I bring up the issue are very obvious. It is currently a very topical matter, particularly as it relates to the board of Aer Rianta which is in the middle of a public controversy. The reason any objective person would assume one is appointed to the board of a semi-State body is he or she has two qualities, first, expertise in the area and, second, independence. In almost all companies, particularly public companies, the requirement of corporate governance is not so much expertise, but, above all, that directors should have independence in order that they would not be subject to external or internal hidden pressures.
I suggest to the Minister that this is not the case in regard to semi-State bodies. The record is one of political parties willy nilly appointing friends and supporters to semi-State bodies as a priority above their interest, expertise and knowledge of the industry or business which they have been appointed to safeguard. This is an open secret, not something any party particularly hides. It just becomes Buggins's turn every five years. If the political landscape changes and a person is normally not reappointed, someone from the opposite political party takes his or her place and is either a supporter or a member of the party concerned.
Unfortunately, the record is peppered with such incidents. This does not just apply to Fianna Fáil, it also applies to Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Democratic Left and the Progressive Democrats. There is a ruthless tendency to appoint friends to such positions. There was the situation in the VHI, with which the Minister will be undoubtedly familiar, which was full of members and supporters of the Fine Gael Party and supporters of the Minister for Health and Children. It is time to end this phenomenon. There would be a great opportunity, if the Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, took my suggestion on board, in the case of Aer Rianta where two appointments must be made. He should make them in such a way that he could not be accused of appointing members or supporters of the party. He has the opportunity in the midst of this controversy.
Meetings of the directors of Aer Rianta must be fairly unique spectacles. Members of the board could be forgiven for believing they are at a side show of a Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis or a Fianna Fáil cumann meeting. The chairman, Mr. Noel Hanlon, is a long time friend and supporter of Fianna Fáil. Board member, Mr. Dermot O'Leary, is a member of the national executive of Fianna Fáil. Another director, Mr. Tadhg O'Donoghue, was a recent Fianna Fáil director of elections in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown while Ms Freda Hayes is closely associated with the Soldiers of Destiny.
Fianna Fáil has a vice-like grip on Aer Rianta, which is not good for the semi-State body. The Minister has been given a Heaven sent opportunity to break the flawed practice of appointing party loyalists to key positions in semi-State bodies. He should break the mould of political patronage by refusing to appoint both Mr. O'Leary and Mr. O'Donoghue who are now up for reappointment or replacement.
I take this opportunity of making one or two suggestions. Now that the joint committee dealing with semi-State bodies has been abolished, those appointed as directors to semi-State companies should be subject to some sort of public examination and scrutiny at the very least. It would not be beyond the ability of this House to ask fair and sensible questions of the people concerned at a public hearing about their qualifications for sitting on such boards. We should also consider the very dubious practice of appointing members of the so-called social partnership to the boards simply and solely because they are social partners.
Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)
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On a point of clarification, I understand Mr. O'Donoghue does not wish to be reappointed.
Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator cannot make a point of clarification. The Minister of State to reply.
Jim McDaid (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Ross for raising the issue of the appointment of members to State boards, particularly Aer Rianta. A total of nine State bodies operate under the aegis of the Department of Transport. These include the main commercial State bodies in the transport sector, most notably, Aer Lingus, Aer Rianta, the CIE group of companies and the Railway Procurement Agency. The Department of Transport also has responsibility for the National Roads Authority, the Dublin Transportation Office, the National Safety Council, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety and the Irish Aviation Authority.
The commercial State enterprises are involved in the provision or procurement of services on a commercial basis. Bodies such as the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Roads Authority have specific functions in relation to the procurement of metro and light rail and the advancement of the national roads programme respectively. The DTO co-ordinates the implementation by the relevant agencies of an agreed integrated transport strategy for the greater Dublin area.
The principal function of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety is to carry out analyses, on behalf of the Garda, of the alcohol content of specimens taken from people suspected of drink driving offences. The National Safety Council promotes road and fire safety awareness through publicity and educational campaigns. The Irish Aviation Authority has responsibility for the provision of air navigation services and it also acts as the air safety regulator.
In the case of Aer Rianta, which is specifically referred to, the company has a general duty under statute to operate and manage the three State airports at Dublin, Shannon and Cork. This includes the provision of the necessary infrastructure and services at the State airports at the lowest possible cost to meet the needs of the various airport users, including airlines and passengers, consistent with safety and commercial operations and the requirement to promote the development of traffic at the airports.
A broad range of considerations is taken into account in the appointment of members to State boards. In the case of a number of the companies involved, including Aer Rianta, a third of the board membership is comprised of worker directors elected in accordance with the Worker Participation (State Enterprises) Acts and duly appointed by the Minister on foot of the outcome of those elections.
In the case of other board members, the considerations which are taken into account include the type of body involved, whether commercial, technical or regulatory, the major issues facing the bodies involved including challenges and opportunities, the need for an appropriate balance as between the various disciplines currently represented on such a board, the need for gender balance, the need, where relevant, for the appointment of persons with particular technical expertise and the need to achieve representation for specific sectoral or regional interests where this is relevant.
Apart from the worker directors, and members of the Railway Procurement Agency, where a specific skills mix is identified under the legislation governing the body, there is no specific formula governing the choice of appointees to State boards. Of necessity, the choice made involves a question of judgment. The foregoing sets out in broad, yet reasonably accurate, terms the mix of considerations which are taken into account when a vacancy arises on a State board and a decision is required in relation to the filling of that vacancy. It is also relevant that discussions may be involved between the Minister and the chairman of a particular State body before decisions are made to fill vacancies that arise on the board of such a body.
A glance at the make-up of the current membership of the State boards under the aegis of the Department of Transport shows a broad mix of experience and expertise in the composition of those boards. Current board members include worker representatives, persons from the banking and insurance communities, from the various professions including accountancy, auctioneering and engineering, local and regional authorities, civil servants, the hotels sector, the legal, medical and pharmaceutical sectors and the universities, to mention but a few. I hope that the foregoing remarks will be helpful in illustrating the efforts made to achieve a broad representative balance together with specific expertise, where relevant, in making appointments to State boards.
Shane Ross (Independent)
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If I may, I will exercise my right to a supplementary question.
Shane Ross (Independent)
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The Minister will understand my incredulity at his reply. Is the support or membership of a political party ever a consideration in the appointment of people to State boards?
Jim McDaid (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I have never accepted that Fianna Fáil should have a monopoly on wisdom, expertise and knowledge. However, there is bound to be such wisdom, expertise and knowledge among the over 40% of people who voted for Fianna Fáil in the general election.