Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the internal selection procedures in place for the appointment of chairpersons and board members of non-departmental bodies under the aegis of his Department. [36899/06]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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An Foras Teanga comprises Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster Scots Agency. The Board of the Foras Teanga has 24 members appointed by North South Ministerial Council (NSMC). Of those members — (a) 16 are drawn from among persons appearing to NSMC to have an interest in, or experience of, matters relating to the functions of the Body in relation to the Irish Language; and (b) 8 are drawn from among persons appearing to NSMC to have an interest in, or experience of, matters relating to the functions of the Body in relation to Ullans and Ulster Scots cultural issues. One member from each Agency is appointed by NSMC as Chairperson of that Agency and they will act as joint Chairpersons of the Body.

Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge was established in 1952. It has 12 members. All board appointments including the Chairperson are made by the Minister. Members are drawn from among persons appearing to the Minister to have an interest in, or experience of, matters relating to the functions of the Bord. The Board's remit is to develop and foster writing and publishing in the Irish Language.

An Coimisiún Logainmneacha (The Placenames Commission) was established in 1946. It currently has 15 members. The remit of the Commission is to advise on the research of the placenames of Ireland and on providing authoritative Irish versions of those names for official and public use. Appointments to the Commission including the Chairperson are made by the Minister. Members are drawn from among persons appearing to the Minister to have an interest in, or experience of, matters relating to the functions of the Commission.

The Charities Act 1961 outlines the procedure in place for the appointment of the chairperson and the Board members of the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland. Section 8(1) states that "the Government shall appoint persons to be members of the Board from time to time as occasion requires" and 8(5) states that "...as occasion requires, the Board shall appoint a member of the Board to be the Chairman of the Board..."

The Articles of Association of Pobal provide that the Government appoints the members of the Board having regard to a balance of: Persons with significant expertise and participation in local, urban and rural development, social inclusion, community development and equality issues; Persons with significant expertise and experience in one or more of the following fields: business, trade unions, financial management, social and/or economic policy and the appraisal of strategic plans and/or grant applications; equality of gender, that all reasonable endeavour is used to ensure that 40% of the Board membership comprise either gender; and appropriate geographical spread covering both urban and rural communities. In order to achieve these objectives, Article 3 of the Articles of Association requires the Minister to consider nominations received from a list of stakeholders defined by the Government. The stakeholders are: The Social Partners, Area and Community Partnerships, County Childcare Committees, and the County and City Managers Association. Where vacancies arise on the Board, the Minister, in the first instance, requests nominations from each of the stakeholders and upon receipt of nominations makes proposals to the Government to appoint persons to achieve an overall balance of representation as required by the Articles of Association.

In the case of Údarás na Gaeltachta, the relevant legislation provides that the Minister will appoint the Chairperson and two members to the board while the remaining 17 board members will be elected by the Gaeltacht community. The legislation further provides that the person appointed as chairperson shall have such special skills or experience as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of the body and shall not have stood as a candidate in the last election.

The Chairperson and members of the Dormant Accounts Board are appointed by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in accordance with Section 32 of the Dormant Accounts Acts 2001 to 2005

The Western Development Commission Act 1998 provides that the Minister will appoint the Chairperson and 11 ordinary members, with the consent of the Minister of Finance. The legislation further provides that the chairperson and ordinary members will hold office for a period of 3 years from the date of his or her appointment.