James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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48 persons have been appointed to the boards of management of bodies under the aegis of my Department, since its establishment in June 2011. Details are set out in the table below:

Agency	Board Membership	Appointed since June 2011
Child and Family Agency	9	9*
Adoption Authority	7	2
Children’s Detention School Board of Management	13	13
Family Support Agency	n/a	23
National Educational Welfare Board	n/a	10

*The membership of the board of the Family Support Agency was appointed to the board of the new Child and Family Agency on its establishment on 1 January 2014.

In line with the Government decision of April 2011, new arrangements were put in place for the making of appointments to State Boards and bodies. On the Department's website, the vacancies on the boards of State Bodies and Agencies operating under my Department's aegis were indicated and expressions of interest from persons interested in being appointed to these boards were invited. My officials acknowledged all expressions of interest received and maintained a database of those expressions.

In May 2013 the Public Appointments Service (PAS), on behalf of my Department, sought expressions of interest from those interested in being appointed to the Board of the Family Support Agency having regard to both its existing statutory functions and its planned role in facilitating the establishment of the Child and Family Agency.

New arrangements concerning appointments to State Boards have recently been approved by Government and guidelines covering the process to be used were published on 25th November 2014 by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Under these new arrangements, PAS will manage the process of advertising and subsequently, the selection of suitable potential appointees to State Boards. Currently, there is one vacancy on the Board of the Children Detention Schools following the resignation of a Board member. My Department will engage with PAS shortly in this regard.

The Deputy may wish to note that the governing legislation in relation to each of these bodies sets out the composition of the board either in terms of their qualifications and experience, or the Government Minister or body that is responsible for nominating representatives on them or who must be consulted in the nomination process.

In making my decisions on appointments to boards, subject to the governing legislation, I will consider the most suitable persons for the positions available with due regard to the body or agency in question and its particular responsibilities and I will seek to ensure that the appropriate mix of skills and experience is in place to achieve the best result.