Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form the number of organisations or agencies under the aegis of his Department that have vacancies on their board; the length of time any such vacancies have been unfilled; the number of vacancies that have been advertised; the number of applications to fill such vacancies that have been received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4863/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that the information sought regarding vacancies on the Board of organisations and agencies under the aegis of my Department is detailed below.

The Private Security Authority (PSA), an independent agency under my remit, is the regulatory body with responsibility for regulating and licensing the private security industry in the State. There are 11 vacancies on the Board, four of these will be nominated representatives from my own Department, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, An Garda Síochána and the PSA itself.

The Deputy may also wish to note that the General Scheme of a Bill to replace the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission with a new Irish Human Rights Equality Commission was published on the 5th June 2012. There are currently no serving members on either body. As the Deputy will be aware, an independent Selection Panel was set up to select the members of the new Commission. It is expected that the selection process for Commission members will be completed shortly. Once the selection panel have made a decision on their recommendation and communicated that decision to me, the intention is that the successful applicants will be appointed to the two existing bodies, the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission, pending enactment of the necessary legislation to effect the merger. It is also intended that the successful applicants will meet with the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.