Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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To ask the Taoiseach the details of all appointments made by him to all State agencies, commercial bodies and all other appointments made by him since taking office, including the State owned banks and the judiciary. [8126/13]

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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To ask the Taoiseach the details of the qualifications of all the appointees made by him to all State agencies, commercial bodies and all other appointments made by him since taking office including the State owned banks and judiciary for the appointments they have accepted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8144/13]

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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To ask the Taoiseach the number of appointees and the percentage of appointments made by him to all State agencies, commercial bodies and all other appointments made by him since taking office including the State owned banks and the Judiciary that were subject to a public applications process. [8162/13]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 to 192, inclusive, together.

The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) is the only State agency under the aegis of my Department. The NESC provides guidance to Government on strategic issues for Ireland’s economic and social development. Since coming into office on 9 March 2011, I have made appointments to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) as set out in the tables beneath. The appointments are made in accordance with the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 and S.I. No. 603 of 2010, National Economic and Social Council (Alteration of Composition) Order 2010.

I appoint members specifically on the basis of nominations from business and employer interests, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, farming and agricultural interests, the community and voluntary sector and the environmental sector. I may also appoint up to six public servants of whom at least one shall represent the Taoiseach and one shall represent the Minister for Finance. These appointments represent relevant Departments to ensure NESC's work is integrated with Government policy-making. I also appointed eight independent members to the NESC in 2011, in most cases from the academic sector. These appointments were made following careful consideration of the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise relevant to the functions of the Council as required by the legislation.

The Government has put new arrangements in place for the making of appointments to State boards. In the particular case of the NESC, I should emphasise that most of the members of NESC are appointed on the basis of nominations received from representative organisations. Historically, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson posts are filled from my Department at Secretary General and Assistant Secretary level. I am satisfied that the other appointments were appropriate, bearing in mind the key strategic role of the NESC. However the option of utilising the new process for expressions of public interest will be considered when the next round of appointments of independent members to the NESC arises.

The only other relevant appointment was that of an Assistant Secretary from my Department to the National Statistics Board (NSB) on 13 September 2012. This appointment was made in line with the provisions of Section 18 (1)(b) of the Statistics Act 1993, which provides for the appointment to the NSB of a representative of my Department at Assistant Secretary or higher grade. My functions in relation to the NSB were delegated to the Government Chief Whip, Minister of State Paul Kehoe T.D., on 22 March 2011 who therefore made this appointment.

Table 1: Details of appointments made by the Taoiseach to NESC since 9 March 2011 are set out in the table beneath.