Written answers

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Department of Social Protection

Appointments to State Boards

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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272. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is concerned by the number of appointments to State boards under her remit that do not go through the Public Appointments Commission; her plans to review the manner in which State boards are appointed to ensure that the most suitably qualified persons fill vacancies that arise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30806/14]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a Board) and the Social Welfare Tribunal.

Citizens Information Board

The legislative provisions governing appointments to the Citizens Information Board are contained in the Comhairle Act 2000, the Citizens Information Act 2007 and the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011.

The procedures followed when appointing members to the Citizens Information Board (CIB) are in accordance with the Revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies where Departments invite expressions of interest from members of the public for vacancies on the boards or bodies under their aegis.These arrangements involve using a centralised application service provided by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to manage the expressions of interest received.

In accordance with the legislation, I also appoint a representative from the CIB and from the Department to the Board.

Pensions Authority

I have used the Public Appointments Service to obtain appropriate and suitable nominees for the Pensions Council. People interested in serving as members (unpaid) of the Pensions Council were invited to make expressions of interest to the Public Appointments Service, and applications were received from 56 individuals last month. It is hoped to process these and to make appointments to the Council shortly. The Pensions Authority is a three person oversight board composed of a Chair (the outgoing Chair from the Pensions Board has continued in the role) and representatives from the Department of Finance and my Department. It was not appropriate to use the PAS process in this regard.

The Social Welfare Tribunal

The Social Welfare Tribunal consists of a Chairperson and four ordinary members, two on the nomination of Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and two nominated by Irish Business and Employers' Confederation (IBEC). Legislation provides that the four ordinary members of the Tribunal are appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the two relevant bodies. The Chairperson is sourced by my Department by way of a recommendation from the Labour Court with regard to a particular candidate’s suitability.

All positions are filled in line with the relevant governing legislation, which varies from body to body, and with the objective of providing the best possible advice and expertise for the bodies concerned. There are no plans to review the manner in which appointments are made to State Boards under the remit of my Department.

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