Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 571: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will provide a list of the members of the board of directors of Bord Gáis with full details in regard to their appointment including dates of same and terms and conditions of appointment and pay, remuneration and expenses setting out the amounts paid for each of the past two years and indicating in respect of each appointee the reason for their appointment and their qualifications for the position. [25401/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The members of the board of Bord Gáis Éireann are as follows:

All appointments are for five years. There are currently two vacancies on the board. Mr. Ed O'Connell, chairperson, is a former plant manager, Clonmel Manufacturing, former manager and former group manager, Digital Ireland, former non-executive chairperson, Irish National Petroleum Corporation Limited, INPC. Mr. Gerry Walsh, chief executive officer, held senior management positions at Bord Gáis Éireann from 1989 to 2000.

Mr. Aidan Eames is the principal of Eames and Company, Solicitors, Dublin. He has served as chairperson and member of a number of State bodies and acts as adviser to technology and telecommunication companies. Mr. Proinsias J. Kitt is a partner in the accountancy firm DHKN chartered accountants and is a former chairperson of Shannon Foynes Port Company. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Ms Frances Ruane is an associate professor of economics and chairperson of the Policy Institute at Trinity College, Dublin and a non-executive director of DEPFA Bank. Mr. Gene Fitzgerald is a former member of the European Parliament and former Minister for Finance and Minister for Labour. He is also chairperson of an investment company, Thomson Holdings Ireland and of an air cargo agency, International Airline Marketing. Mr. Fitzgerald is also a board member of Irish National Petroleum Corporation Limited, INPC.

Mr. Pearse O'Hanrahan is chairperson of Dundalk Port Company and a board member of Dundalk Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Joint Management Committee Programme for Peace and Reconciliation and vice chairman of the Combat Poverty Agency.

The appointments are subject to the relevant provisions of the Gas Act 1976 and in particular to the following terms and conditions: the appointment shall be effective for a specified period; the member shall devote so much of his or her time to his or her duties as a member of the board as shall be necessary for the proper and efficient discharge of those duties; the remuneration of the member will be at a specified rate; travelling expenses and subsistence allowance at the rates appropriate to civil servants of the highest grade will, subject to the usual regulations, be payable to the member in respect of journeys reasonably and necessarily undertaken by him or her as a member of the board; no remuneration will be paid in respect of any other service performed by the member for or on behalf of the board save with the consent of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Minister for Finance.

The expenses paid to each board member is a matter for Bord Gáis Éireann and is not one in which I have a direct concern. However, the Deputy's attention is drawn to the fourth condition above wherein it states that payment of such expenses is subject to the same regulations that pertain in regard to Civil Service expenses.

Appointments are made to the board of Bord Gáis Éireann by me with the consent of the Minister for Finance as vacancies arise. In making the appointments, I take into consideration the requirements of the board at that particular time. Specific attributes that are generally required include experience or qualification in the areas of business, economics, engineering, law, finance and accounting.